Nothing to see here

MANSFIELD — The county coroners responsible for ruling the jailhouse death of Alex Rios accidental and citing a cause that isn't scientifically recognized won't say if they ever viewed a video of Rios being beaten unconscious by jail guards on Sept. 18, 2019. Alex Rios on life support in the hospital in this photo taken after he was taken there from the Richland County Jail. Provided An autopsy report prepared by the Montgomery County coroner's office does not even mention the video, which experts say clearly shows Rios' breathing airways being constricted in a struggle with five jail guards who tackled him to the ground. In the video, the guards can be seen punching him in the head, in the groin and kneeing him on his back. One guard stands on his back near his neck exerting the full weight of his body as another guard repeatedly electroshocks him with a Taser weapon. Rios begins turning blue about two minutes after the video starts. Even then, the guards can be seen continuing to physically assault his limp body. But there isn't any notation about any of that in the autopsy report. The autopsy report states only that "an altercation between Rios and corrections officers ensued and during him being restrained he became unresponsive." Understatement? Dr. Kent Harshbarger, the elected Montgomery County coroner, and his appointed chief deputy coroner, Dr. Lee Lehman, have not returned phone calls or responded to written inquiries regarding whether either of them ever watched the video that shows the actual circumstances leading to Alex Rios' death. Rios was taken from the Richland County Jail that same day to Ohio Health Hospital in Mansfield, where he was pronounced dead eight days later never having regained consciousness, only minutes after life support was discontinued. Rios with his two sons is pictured in this family photo. Provided It's not clear why Harshbarger and Lehman refuse to comment, but it's not just them who have stayed silent for three years. Dr. Daniel Burwell, the elected Richland County coroner, also won't answer if he ever viewed the video. Burwell, who does not perform autopsies, signed Alex Rios' death certificate. The death certificate mirrors the finding Harshbarger's office cited in an autopsy report that "excited delirium" and Dr. Burwell added that "accidental" was the manner. The Register's requests to interview Harshbarger, Lehman, Burwell and Richland County Sheriff Steve Sheldon have gone unanswered. All of the men have ignored written questions and calls seeking more information; they have not acknowledged the correspondence or returned telephone calls. They've provided no explanation for why they all are remaining silent, and they will not say if the cause of death listed is being reconsidered. Cause of death Excited delirium is not recognized as a cause of death ruling by the American Medical Association, and, generally is not accepted by any medical professional association as legitimate. Despite that, it is often cited in cases involving the death of someone in police custody or in a correctional setting, leaving some to speculate it's used to shield or protect the people responsible for someone's death, usually police officers or corrections officers. "The term 'excited delirium' cannot be disentangled from its racist and unscientific origins," an executive summary to a report, "'Excited Delirium' and Deaths in Police Custody, the Deadly Impact of a Baseless Diagnosis" states. The report was authored by Physicians for Human Rights and published in March 2022. The group, founded in 1987, has used science and the uniquely credible voices of medical professionals to document and call attention to severe human rights violations around the world. It won a Nobel Peace Prize for its work in 1997. Dr. Amanda Paul, a deputy coroner no longer with Harshbarger's office, performed the autopsy. She too has been unavailable to say whether she saw the video or reviewed other evidence related to Rios' death before assigning excited delirium as the cause of it. Nowhere in the autopsy report from Harshbarger's office does the report state what caused Dr. Paul and the other doctors to reach that conclusion or why it was reached. Burwell Harshbarger The report from Harshbarger's office doesn't even mention that a video exists or say if it was ever viewed, at any point, before or after the autopsy was performed. Viewing the video is key to making an informed and accurate ruling, according to experts. It shows the circumstances as they occurred. One expert, a former state prison warden and regional director who still works under contract for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, Edwin Voorhies Jr., issued a 16-page report in which he states the beat down Alex Rios endured was far "more egregious than what the whole world witnessed with George Floyd." Floyd was killed May 25, 2020, on a street corner in Minneapolis in broad daylight when police officers held him to the ground while the lead officer pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for nearly 10 minutes, suffocating him. Excited delirium was raised as a possible cause of death early on, but was rejected at trial by a jury. Police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder the following year and was sentenced to 22½ years in prison. Three other officers were convicted of depriving Floyd of his civil rights and sentenced to lesser prison terms. Taxpayers pay Rios, 28, was the father of three young children. His parents, through an attorney, submitted the Voorhies report and other records to an attorney representing the county's insurance company late last year. The insurance company paid the family $4 million to avoid a wrongful death lawsuit. The money is being used to provide for Alex's kids and help their families, said Don Mould, a Lorain County contractor and businessman who was Rios' stepfather. Thompson Medina County Prosecutor Forrest Thompson was appointed special prosecutor just days after Rios died — but no findings of any kind were ever released by his office and nobody from the jail was ever reprimanded or charged with any wrongdoing related to Rios' death, an outcome Mould and his family hope can be remedied. "The scope of the entire investigation is whether the conduct of one or more of the corrections officers was directly linked to death of Mr. Rios, or was a direct or indirect causation of Mr. Rios' death," Thompson told a reporter last month. Thompson is troubled — and perhaps stymied — by the erroneous findings for cause and manner of death. He declined to say if he's talked with Lehman, Harshbarger or Burwell or whether he's asked any of them to reconsider the ruling. He refuses to say if he's even talked with them or asked them if they viewed the video before signing off on the cause of death reasons listed in the documents. Thompson acknowledged, however, that there are "nagging questions" related to the death of Alex Rios. Mould said he wants a grand jury to see all the evidence of what happened to his stepson. "I want the video to be viewed by the grand jury," he said. But Thompson is noncommittal about whether any evidence would be presented to a grand jury. "I am unable to make any further statements regarding the investigation into this matter or the status of the grand jury presentation," he told the Register. Thompson suggested that decisions could be made as soon as this month — before Thanksgiving — but he provided no hint about what the decision might be.