Death of restrained inmate is ruled a homicide

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - The death of an inmate after he struggled with corrections officers was ruled a homicide Thursday by Connecticut’s chief medical examiner.

Carl Talbot’s death was due to “physical struggle with restraint, atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease and morbid obesity,” according to the medical examiner’s office. Talbot weighed about 400 pounds (180 kilograms).

He was a nonviolent offender, initially arrested on charges of trespassing and breach of peace, and the Ansonia-Milford State’s Attorney Margaret Kelley said he had been remanded to custody by his parole officer two days before his death.

Talbot was diagnosed as child with bipolar disorder with schizoaffective features, according to his mother, Colleen Lord.

In March, he refused to leave the shower area of the New Haven Correctional Center and refused to cooperate with officers. The Harford Courant reports he was pepper sprayed and placed in restraints after that and later put in bed __ still restrained.

He was found unresponsive an hour later and brought to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he was pronounced dead nearly three hours after the initial altercation with corrections officers.

Rigor mortis, which is the stiffening of the joints and muscles and usually begins two to four hours after death, had begun by the time he got to the hospital, the Hartford Courant reports.

The death is now the subject of a criminal investigation by the state’s attorney as well as an internal inquiry by the state Department of Correction.

Rollin Cook, the commissioner for the Department of Corrections, said in a statement that the department couldn’t comment on the investigation but noted that a homicide finding does not necessarily mean there was criminal intent.

“As an agency we are all deeply saddened by the loss of a young man’s life,” he said.

A spokesperson for the department also said a correctional lieutenant was placed on administrative leave after the incident and retired shortly thereafter.

Lord also released a joint statement with her sister on the news, stating “as a large, close family we continue to cope with the devastating loss of Robby. He was a loving, gentle, non-violent person who suffered with life-long, serious mental illness.”