A special prosecutor has been appointed to investigate the death of Tasha Grant, a 39-year-old woman who died after being physically restrained by law enforcement at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner ruled Grant’s death a homicide, concluding that the restraint slowed her breathing and caused her heart to stop.
According to Marshall Project, Grant, who had both legs amputated years earlier, was transferred from the Cuyahoga County Jail to MetroHealth on May 2 after complaining of chest pains. Three days later, she was subdued by three MetroHealth officers and a sheriff’s deputy after reportedly refusing to cooperate with medical staff. According to autopsy records, she was handcuffed to a hospital bed, injected with a sedative, and placed face-down with pressure applied to her back. Fourteen minutes later, she was found unresponsive.
Video evidence showed Grant’s chest and abdomen pressed against the bed while force was applied to her backside. The medical examiner also identified internal bleeding in her neck muscles caused by pressure during the restraint.
Conflicting Accounts
Both MetroHealth and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department have distanced themselves from responsibility. The sheriff’s deputy on scene, Brandon Coffey, wrote in a brief report that Grant “died while in the custody and while being in the care of MetroHealth staff members.” MetroHealth countered that incarcerated patients remain under the sheriff’s jurisdiction and that administrative restraints, such as handcuffs, are law enforcement’s responsibility.
No officer was in the room when Grant was discovered unresponsive, according to records.
Family Reaction
Grant’s former partner, Marcellus Potter, who shares an 11-year-old son with her, expressed disbelief over the restraint. “She had no legs. Why would they restrain her down like that?” he said. Potter described Grant as combative at times but also kind, and well known to medical personnel across the county. “Every ambulance [worker] … knew her name,” he added, noting that many nurses understood who she was and treated her with care.
Mental Health History
Court records show Grant had a long history of mental health struggles and encounters with hospital staff and police. She had recently faced criminal charges related to an incident at Southwest General Health Center in 2024, where she was accused of assaulting officers and nurses. A judge had ordered a mental health evaluation, but records show it was never completed before her April arrest and return to jail.
Next Steps
Special prosecutor Brian Kraft, a former assistant county prosecutor, will review the case. Officials stress that the homicide ruling does not automatically imply criminal wrongdoing but does warrant further investigation.
Homicides among Cuyahoga County’s incarcerated population remain rare. A Marshall Project review found only one prior homicide among 28 in-custody deaths in recent years — and that was at the hands of another inmate.
Grant’s case, however, raises new questions about the use of physical restraints on mentally ill detainees in medical settings, and about accountability when multiple agencies are involved in custodial care.
