Police officers were justified in their use of force on a man who died in police custody last year after two of his adult relatives were stabbed at a home in Dedham, Massachusetts, according to the final report from the Norfolk District Attorney's Office.
Samuel Pattillo, who was accused of stabbing two female relatives just before his death, died of cardiac arrest after a struggle with Dedham police, an autopsy revealed. The two stabbing victims survived their injuries.
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According to a report by District Attorney Michael Morrissey, the incident on Dec. 6, 2023, began at Pattillo's home on Jackson Pond Road, when he grabbed a kitchen knife and began attacking one of the women. The second woman tried to intervene and she was injured as well.
Family members told investigators that Pattillo, 36, had been suffering a decline in his mental health and that they believed that contributed to the attack, which they described as happening "without warning." He then ran out of the home and was spotted by witnesses running down the street, naked.
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When police approached him, the district attorney said Pattillo became combative with the officers. The officers said during interviews that they deployed a Taser multiple times in an effort to control Pattillo, who was described as attempting to kick or buck officers off him, at some points biting. Officers also used pepper spray at one point during the struggle. According to the report, Pattillo continued his attacks and it took multiple officers to get him under control.
Officers said they eventually were able to restrain Pattillo and stated he seemed to be calming down, according to the report. However, that was when officers noticed Pattillo appeared to stop breathing. They called for EMS and began life-saving measures, but Pattillo was pronounced dead at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham, prosecutors said.
An autopsy found that Pattillo died of cardiac arrest and that he showed signs of cardiovascular disease. The manner of death was ruled a homicide, based on the deployment of the Tasers and the struggle with officers.
The district attorney found that officers were justified in their use of force given the imminent danger posed by the situation. There will be no criminal charges.
"Where Mr. Pattillo stabbed his family members and violently assaulted responding Dedham Police officers, there was an imminent threat of danger and potentially death to the officers and the public, and the officers’ actions were reasonably necessary," Morrissey wrote, noting that officers tried using de-escalation techniques and took immediate action when they realized Pattillo was not breathing after the struggle.
"I find that the officers’ actions showed they were not only concerned for themselves, each other, and the public, but also Mr. Pattillo; and their actions were reasonable under the circumstances."
