Five IMPD officers on leave while department investigates woman’s death
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Five Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officers are on leave after a woman died about two days after an altercation with police.
Eleanor Northington, 43, stopped breathing while in police custody at Mount Calvary Apostolic Church. An autopsy report is underway, but it could take weeks to get results.
On Feb. 6, IMPD received a call from someone at the Mount Calvary Apostolic Church claiming a woman was aggressive with the congregation during a prayer service.
On Thursday, Feb. 21, Chief Bryan Roach admitted he should have come out to talk about the incident sooner. He held a meeting with members of the media but did not permit cameras or recording devices due to the sensitive nature of what happened that night at the church.
According to Roach, Northington’s daughter brought Eleanor to the church because her mother had been struggling. The daughter told police Eleanor had been depressed for a while and was not sleeping or eating, complained of headaches and back pain, and was a paranoid schizophrenic who was not taking her medication.
Police said witnesses, of which there were upwards of 20, described Northington’s behavior as “disruptive,” “active” and “agitated.” Parishioners tried to calm her down, but her behavior continued to escalate. Police said she was spitting on, yelling at and hitting pastors. An off-duty officer, who is part of IMPD’s Behavioral Health Unit, was at the church and also tried to calm her and called for an ambulance.
Roach said once two uniformed officers got to the church, they approached Northington and she started getting physical with them. However, officers did not hit her or use tasers or other weapons to subdue her.
Two more officers arrived, and they managed to get the woman in handcuffs. Roach said a member of the congregation put a cloth over her mouth to stop her from spitting on people. The officers and Northington fell to the ground. When the officers got up, Roach said, they heard snoring or labored breathing from Northington and immediately removed the cloth, removed the handcuffs and started chest compressions.
An ambulance took Northington to the hospital and she died two days later. Preliminary autopsy results showed no evidence of traumatic injuries, but the final cause of death will not be available until the toxicology screening is complete.
All five officers involved on Thursday remained on paid administrative leave.
All IMPD officers go through a 40-hour Crisis Intervention Training.
This story has been updated to correct the preliminary autopsy results.
