No criminal charges for Platte County deputies in death of woman in transport van

No charges will be filed in connection to the death of Emma Lewis, a Platte City woman who died in a Platte County Sheriff’s Office transport van this summer, a special prosecutor announced Friday.

Dwight K. Scroggins Jr., a prosecuting attorney for the Buchanan County Courthouse assigned by the Platte County presiding judge to investigate Lewis’ death, said she died from a combination of ingested drugs and a sudden cardiac arrest.

“There was no indication or evidence of any criminally culpable conduct by the officers involved,” Scroggins said in a statement. “Based upon that determination, there will be no charges filed or further investigation requested by me in my capacity as Special Prosecutor in this matter and the matter is hereby concluded.”

Platte County Sheriff’s Office deputies had taken Lewis into custody June 9, when Lewis, 50, had refused to comply with an order of protection filed against her by her daughter. Antonia Ingelse had told a judge that her mother’s aggressive and sometimes violent behavior concerned her, and she wanted Lewis to leave the home they shared.

After being handcuffed that day, Lewis kicked and fought against deputies. She threatened to kill herself several times and told a deputy that she had not taken her medication for being bipolar. Inside the jail van, she banged her head against a wall.

She was found not breathing and covered in vomit when the van arrived at the jail five minutes later. Her body was face down on the van floor with her hands still bound behind her and a seat belt wrapped around her neck. But Scroggins said strangulation did not appear to be a factor in the death.

“Both autopsy reports confirmed in my mind there was no criminal misconduct, neither intentional nor criminal misconduct on behalf of any of the officers that were involved,” Scroggins said later in a telephone interview.

Relatives of Lewis could not be reached for comment about Scroggins’ conclusions.

Maj. Erik Holland with the Platte County Sheriff’s Office said Sheriff Mark Owen is glad the matter is over and he is pleased with the outcome.

“I always believed that our deputies complied with policies and procedures, took appropriate action and did not commit any wrongdoing. We asked for another agency to investigate for transparency, and the truth of the matter has prevailed,” Holland said on Owen’s behalf.

“The death of Ms. Lewis is tragic and unfortunate, but it can clearly be seen that it was not caused by our deputies,” he said.

Scroggins said he reviewed investigative reports, documents and video compiled by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, which investigated the death.

He also reviewed an autopsy conducted by the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office and a second autopsy report submitted by Frontier Midwest LLC.

An earlier incident report showed that at least four deputies were eventually present when Lewis was loaded into the van, and one deputy drove the vehicle that transported Lewis.

Documents completed by Ingelse and the sheriff’s office indicate that the agency had interacted with Lewis before. Her daughter indicated in her request for protection that Lewis had been removed from her home for violent behavior before. At least one deputy indicated in the sheriff’s office report that he had been called to the Lewis residence on a previous occasion.

The autopsy report and other findings are expected to be released to the public in 30 days.

This story was originally published October 28, 2016 at 4:01 PM with the headline "No criminal charges for Platte County deputies in death of woman in transport van."