Follow-Up on Female’s Death after issue at WalMart

In a follow-up to a story that we first brought you on Saturday night; Manchester Police was dispatched to Walmart in Manchester on Saturday morning regarding a woman behaving erratically. Upon arriving a short time later, the officer was directed to the woman. At the officer’s request, she agreed to leave the store with the officer. Once outside, the officer made inquiry as to her situation. At that point, the unnamed female allegedly escalated the situation and the officer was forced to detain her. During his efforts to detain the woman, she collapsed. She was initially taken to Unity Medical Center in Manchester and then transferred to St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville where she later died.
At the request of Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott, the TBI is investigating the situation so that an outside agency can independently review it.
A significant amount of methamphetamine was located in the decedent’s possession.
At this point, Northcott says it appears that the woman died from a medical issue unrelated to the officer’s conduct. He added, “There is no reason to believe that the officer acted inappropriately or in any way contributed to the death of the woman.”
Northcott requested that an autopsy be performed in order to determine cause of death. He said, “Absent new information from the autopsy results when they are received in several weeks or from another source, my office will be taking no action in this case.”
Northcott said, “This is a sad situation and I offer my prayers and condolence for the family of the decedent. I have withheld the decedent’s name to respect her and her family’s privacy. I would ask for the same from others as her family grieves the unexpected and sudden loss of their loved one.”