Concertgoer dies after being hogtied by police; lawyer’s son recorded arrest
A chemical engineer died on Saturday after police in a Memphis suburb hogtied him in an arrest recorded by the son of a concerned lawyer.
Troy Goode, 30, of Memphis died at the hospital hours after police detained him on the way home from a Widespread Panic concert, report the Clarion-Ledger, WREG, the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Local Memphis and CBS 46. Personal injury lawyer David McLaughlin was having dinner nearby during the arrest and his son, Brady, recorded the incident.
The cause of death has not yet been determined for Goode, who had asthma.
A lawyer for Goode’s family, Tim Edwards, told the Clarion-Ledger that Goode left the concert with his wife because he was intoxicated. While his wife was driving, Goode “unexpectedly” left the car and began acting “erratically,” Edwards said. Someone called Southaven, Mississippi, police, who hogtied Goode and placed him face down on a stretcher. Edwards says Goode’s behavior was not threatening to police officers.
Officers who arrived at the scene were told Goode had overdosed on LSD, police say. He had a previous arrest for disorderly conduct at a Widespread Panic concert in 2008, according to the Commercial Appeal.
McLaughlin said he has handled cases involving hogtied individuals and he was concerned about the man being arrested. “The police officer at some point in time took him down to the ground and was on his back,” McLaughlin told CBS46. “I thought that was odd.”
On the stretcher, Goode “looked to me like he was struggling or convulsing or both,” McLaughlin, a lawyer with Morgan & Morgan, told the Clarion-Ledger. “He appeared to be in distress to me.” Brady McLaughlin’s video is posted on YouTube.
According to the Commercial Appeal, hogtying is controversial and it has been the subject of several lawsuits nationwide.
