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A coroner's jury cleared detention officers in Hill County, Montana, of the death of A.J. LongSoldier.
LongSoldier, 18, died last November after complaining of feeling sick. According to a coroner who testified, the star athlete was suffering from severe effects of alcohol withdrawal -- no drugs and no existing illness were at issue.
"Many people can survive this, but on occasion you
find people like this young man who can undergo
medical care and will die," said Fergus County Coroner Dick Brown, The Great Falls Tribune reported. "Reviewing the medical records, I don't think there was much
more they could have done."
The Tribune said the seven-person jury deliberated for 30 minutes before returning a unanimous verdict that cleared the officers. The paper said inquests rarely find fault against officers in similar cases.
LongSoldier was a standout basketball player who led his team on the
Fort Belknap Reservation to
a state championship. He had enrolled at
Haskell Indian Nations University
in Kansas last fall.
LongSoldier's mother, Dayna Bear, is a community health representative
for the Fort Belknap Tribe. His father, Allen LongSoldier Sr., is a member of
the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.
Get the Story:
Jury clears officers in athlete's death
(The Great Falls Tribune 3/17)
Related Stories:
Inquest set for Indian man who died in Montana jail
(2/11)
Inquest planned for Indian
man's death in Montana jail (1/12)
Indian
man requested help early on during jail stay (11/25)
Investigation into death of Native basketball
player (11/24)