Expert poses new theory on what really killed woman in Harper Woods jail – Detroit Free Press

Posted: November 13, 2020 at 4:54 am

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The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office will ask an outsidemedical examiner to review the autopsy report of a woman who died earlier this year in the Harper Woods jail.

Priscilla Slater, 38, of Detroit, died inthe Harper Woods jail on June 10. Her deathprompted protests, the firing of two police officers for altering the police report detailing the discovery of her body, and the resignation of the city's longtimemayor after he told a meeting that he understood how someone could become a white supremacist.

Priscilla Slater, 38, of Detroit, died in the Harper Woods jail on June 10.(Photo: LaTasha Slater)

Slater was arrested about 1:30 a.m. on June 9 at the Parkcrest Inn in Harper Woods, after her boyfriend, Lewis Nichols, 27, also of Detroit, allegedly fired 18 shots into the parking lot.She died the next day.

The Michigan State Police investigated Slater's death. Their findings have been turned over to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's office, which is conducting its own investigation.

A Wayne County Medical Examiner's report reached no certain conclusion about the cause of Slater's death. In the absence of pathological findings, the report speculated that an irregular heartbeat caused by abnormally angled coronary arteriescould have resulted in Slater's sudden death.

Protesters gather outside of Harper Wood Police Department while marching through Harper Woods for Priscilla Slater on July 24, 2020. Slater was found unresponsive in a Harper Woods Police Department holding cell in June 2020.(Photo: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press)

But Oakland County ChiefMedical Examiner Ljubisa Dragovic, M.D., who reviewed the autopsy report at the Free Press' request, calledthat theory "nonsense."

Because of the condition of Slater's liver, Dragovic said in an interview this week, "the most likely diagnosis that one can propose, without being able to see the details ofthe microscopic slides, is that she died from alcoholwithdrawal.If she was not monitored in the cell, thatis a big problem."

The autopsy report notes that video of the jail cell appears to show Slater having a seizure about 5:10 a.m. Her body was discovered in the cellmore than seven hourslater,at12:30 p.m.,

Oakland County (Mich.) Medical Examiner Ljubisa Dragovic.(Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The report does not state a time of death,but says the seizure may have occurred as Slater died.

Dragovic saidSlater's apparent seizure was not consistentwith the heart condition the Wayne County report says killed her.

"The presenting terminal events are not in concordance with a sudden onset of arrhythmia," he said.

Worthy said Wednesday that her office had not previouslybeen aware of the possibility that Slater died of alcohol withdrawal. Alcohol withdrawal is not mentioned in the Wayne County Medical Examiner's report.

"This information was not part of any investigation," she said. "Because of this new information, we feel we need to get an independent medical examinerto review the report."

Worthy added that the need to enlist an additional expert would delay the completion of her own office's report.

Edward Jouney, an addiction specialist and assistant clinical professor in the psychiatry department at Michigan Medicine, said jails should screen people who are in custody at intake to identify substance abuse and the risk of withdrawal. He noted he was speaking generally ofjail practices.

Demonstrators march down the streets of Harper Woods on July 15, 2020, demanding to know what happened to Priscilla Slater while she was in police custody. Slater was arrested by Harper Woods police and taken into custody on June 9, 2020.(Photo: Rodney Coleman-Robinson, Detroit Free Press)

"The first thing that should be done is to take a history to see if the individual has been using any alcoholor drugs, then quantify to see how much they're using," he said. "The body acclimates to drugs or alcohol, and experiences a change in physiology. When you go into jail, you're obviously not provided with alcohol. Thebody is going to react, and go into whats called alcohol withdrawal syndrome."

Most people, he said, will survive alcohol withdrawal with a minimum of care. But some will require medical treatment, and the condition can be life-threatening.

"Some people may necessitate admission to an ICU, and can experience severe problems. If they have a history of regular alcohol use, they (jailofficials)need to regularly assess them for symptoms of alcohol withdrawal."

It's unclear whether Slater was screened for drug or alcohol use, or whether she was offered any treatment while in custody. The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office denied a Freedom of Information Act request for police reports related to Slater's arrest and time in custody, citing the ongoing investigation.

LaTasha Slater, Priscilla Slater's sister, said Wednesday that Dragovic'sexplanation makes sense. Priscilla Slater worked hard, but she played hard, LaTasha said and that often meant drinking hard.

LaTasha had rejected the idea that her sister died of a previously undetected heart abnormality. But she said Dragovic's theory provides amore plausible explanation for her sister's death.

"That makes more sense to me thananything Ive heard about the whole situation," LaTasha said.

Nancy Kaffer is a columnist and member of the Free Press editorial board. She has covered local, state and national politics for two decades. Contact: nkaffer@freepress.com. Become a subscriber.

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