Terrifying Death in Police Custody

The Alexandria Police Department is facing a federal lawsuit stemming from an incident where a Black woman died while in custody after two Alexandria police officers arrested her. The lawsuit was filed by the mother of Rose Marie Taylor, who was in the Rapides Parish Detention Center No. 1 on May 19, 2022, when she was found unresponsive in her cell, two days after she was arrested by Alexandria police officers Brian and Matthew Frost. The two officers are alleged to be father and son, with Brian being the father. The end to Taylor's life began on May 19, 2022, when both officers pulled into a motel parking lot where Taylor and a female friend were guests, as Taylor was sitting in the driver's seat of a vehicle when the officer blocked the vehicle. The lawsuit contends that Matthew Frost approached Taylor and, for unknown reasons, referred to her as a man, asking for identification. When she told him that she had none, Brian Frost told Matthew Frost to have Taylor step out of the vehicle, and again for unknown reasons not stated, both took Taylor from the vehicle. The suit also said that Taylor never offered any resistance, but officers handled her with force, causing pain in her wrists, as she was allegedly slammed by her chest on the hood twice. Drugs were allegedly found on Taylor as the other female was handcuffed. The suit contends that the name of the other female was not mentioned in online records of being booked into jail. Taylor, at this point, was not given a reason for her arrest, nor could either officer say, except for moments later, told her that it was for "loitering". There were alleged body cam contradictions of what the officers allegedly saw and said, that Taylor was slumped over at the wheel and that Brian Frost allegedly said that he didn't know what she did when asked, according to sound from the body cam. Things only got worse for Taylor after she was taken into custody.

Matthew Frost drove Taylor to police headquarters and was allegedly verbally abusive to her, calling her "a dumbass" according to the lawsuit. Taylor would tell other officers at headquarters and at the Rapides Parish Detention Center what had been done to her by Frost, telling them that her left hand and wrist may be broken and that she didn't want Matthew Frost to take her for medical treatment. The lawsuit contends that at the detention center, another officer's body cam heard them that Taylor should receive medical attention, according to what a nurse allegedly stated. According to the lawsuit, an officer named Alexander Helminger was tasked with taking Taylor to the medical center but allegedly had to tell Frost to "step away" from Taylor because he grabbed her by the wrist, causing her to scream out in pain. The suit also contends that Helminger allegedly told Taylor that nobody at the medical center "wanted to hear" what she had to say concerning her injuries. Again for unknown reasons not revealed yet, Frost also arrived at the medical center. Why? Both officers allegedly told hospital staff that Taylor "refused" medical attention, with Helminger allegedly signing a "refusal of medical care on behalf" of Taylor and Frost signing his name "as a witness", the suit contends. One has to ask that if Taylor didn't want medical treatment, why bring her to the hospital? Did anyone on the staff ask Taylor if she wanted to be seen, and if not, why? Where does the hospital take "authority" over police officers when it comes to treating suspects in hospitals and not at detention centers?

When officers brought Taylor back to the detention center, she told deputies again how Helminger and Frost denied her medical treatment, practically pleading for it. She allegedly received a "that sounds like a personal problem" response from Helminger, recorded on his body cam. On May 19, 2022, the worst happened to Taylor, as the lawsuit said that she suffered a seizure before an ambulance arrived, went into cardiac arrest, was treated with CPR by EMTs, and was taken to a hospital. A drug screen found narcotics in her system. The suits also said that Taylor suffered brain and acute kidney injuries. Rose Marie Taylor died on May 30, 2022, leaving her mother as her only survivor. An autopsy was performed, showing extensive kidney damage that was caused by "complications from blunt force injury or injuries". The autopsy also revealed "healing abrasions on both of her wrists and bruises on her left hand at the first knuckle where the hand bones meet the finger bones, in addition to a swollen hand. The autopsy didn't say that these injuries were self-inflicted. The coroner found Taylor's manner of death to be a homicide, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit names the city of Alexandria and Sheriff Mark Woods as defendants. Nine defendants have claims against them, including Officers Brian, Frost, and Matthew Frost, for violating Taylor's 4th and 14th Amendment rights, acting with "shocking and willful indifference" to her rights. Officer Alexander Helminger also was claimed to have violated Taylor's 14th Amendment rights in addition to failing to provide medical care. As of press time, the family has not received much information on the status of the investigation. In addition to the federal lawsuit being filed, other investigations are proceeding, including that of the Louisiana State Police. The family is convinced just from information supplied in the autopsy report Rose Taylor was physically abused by officers, harassed, ignored her pleas for help, and most importantly, denied basic medical treatment. They are determined to see that justice is done and that not another Black mother goes through what this family is going through.