Partial video released in teenager’s Kalamazoo youth center death

Cornelius Frederick died after being restrained at Lakeside For Children

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – A partial video has been released in the death of a teenager who was restrained because he supposedly threw a sandwich at a youth center in Kalamazoo.

Cornelius Frederick died last month after being restrained at the Lakeside For Children facility in Kalamazoo.

The video shows staff members piling on the 16-year-old. The center is designed for troubled teenagers.

Adults were trying to restrain Cornelius, lying on top of him because he threw a sandwich to the ground, according to officials.

The incident goes on for more than 10 minutes, according to the video. It shows Cornelius’ body being left on the floor.

Cornelius Fredericks, 16, died at Lakeside Academy. (Courtesy Jon Marko) (CNN)

He went into cardiac arrest and died the next day at the hospital, officials said.

Two men have been charged in the case.

“But you can see in the video more people were involved in suffocating him,” attorney Geoffrey Fieger said.

A staff nurse was near the incident, and video shows she didn’t come to Cornelius’ aid. She is also facing possible criminal charges.

Eventually, someone performed CPR on Cornelius, but he had stopped breathing, officials said.

Fieger showed the video to shine the light into for-profit centers that the state of Michigan licenses and pays, he said.


About the Authors:

Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been with Local 4 News for more than a decade.

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.