Christine McAuliffe loved her 42-year-old brother Davie Cains as much as a younger sister could adore a sibling, even though a severe intellectual disability had left him with the mentality of a young child who required around-the-clock care for several medical conditions, including the one that killed him.
"Because of this I always tried to be my brother's voice and advocate," she explained.
After living 13 years at the Boone-ville Human Development Center where he seemed to adapt and do well came the day of June 13, 2020, when, Christine and her attorney Joshua Gillespie of North Little Rock contend in a lawsuit, three staff members flagrantly violated the institution's rules and documented medical warnings by letting Davie choke to death while they pinned him on the floor where he'd fallen.
"Their center's own written policies prohibited them from using the method of restraint that killed Davie," said Christine. "It was an unauthorized restraint not approved for use at the facility, not trained at the facility and patently a violation of regulations."
She said three staff members held Davie to the ground immediately after lunch for minutes by his midsection, legs, and arms rather then sitting him upright. The whole time he was thrashing, screaming and terrified.
"He [threw up] and started choking while they were still holding him down, and after they finally let him go, he suffocated ... and died."
Through it all, no staff member called 911, apparently because doing so would have violated the institution's policy; only medical staff are authorized to call for emergency medical help, while all other staff can only alert the facility's medical department, she said.
"This resulted in a delay of between five to 10 minutes from the time Davie started choking and the time 911 was finally called by an LPN."
"My brother should still be alive," Christine continued. "He did not deserve for his story to end with state employees holding him down until he choked and died. Our family did not deserve to be lied to about the events leading up to his death. This is why my brother's case is so important to me."
The 42-year-old woman believes, as do I, that her brother's story should concern all Arkansans who believe every life is valuable and significant.
"Davie was a part of one of the most vulnerable populations in our state, a group of people who depend solely on others to be their voice and protection. We all have someone we love in this group, be it a child, an elderly relative or a person with a disability. The systems set in place do not value these vulnerable lives. Davie and people like him deserve the same quality of life as you and me. My brother's life had value. His life had purpose. Davie didn't deserve to die.
"They did this in response to a routine behavioral incident. Davie was not dangerous. Davie never caused injury to anyone at the center."
According to an October 2020 investigation by Disability Rights Arkansas (DRA), the facility staff knew that among Davie's documented ailments was gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) that caused him to aspirate, and he should have been kept upright for an hour after eating. Restraining him, the report concluded, likely led to his death.
"The actions (and inactions) of the Booneville Human Development Center, one of five such facilities operated by [the Department of Human Services'] Division of Developmental Services, show the facility didn't view Davie's life as precious. Their response to his death and their attitude now just makes it seem like they have better things to worry about," said Christine.
Agency leadership and Booneville administrators do not seem to grasp that it could and should have been prevented, she said. "They also don't seem to grasp or are unwilling to comprehend that something as simple as following their own rules would have prevented this."
Yet, she said, no center employee has been reprimanded for violating policies and protocols in Davie's death.
Accountability is what the family's ongoing lawsuit is seeking, along with a $7 million dollar judgment. The suit before the state Claims Commission (in which defendant DHS has denied all liability) is scheduled to be heard April 9.
"The center also provided false information on the cause and circumstances of Davie's death to the paramedics, the hospital emergency room, the Logan County Coroner and Davie's family, who were not told that a restraint occurred until 10 days after Davie's death and three days after his burial. [Its] deceit successfully prevented an autopsy, foreclosing the possibility of criminal charges," Christine said.
The DRA's investigation into Davie's death described numerous failures and shortcomings at the center, resulting in 21 findings and recommendations, among them installing video cameras in the facility and engaging independent investigators qualified to conduct objective and thorough probes of all facility deaths.
Now go out into the world and treat everyone exactly like you want them to treat you (or someone else's brother).
Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist, was editor of three Arkansas dailies and headed the master's journalism program at Ohio State University. Email him at [email protected].