American Who Died in Turkey in 2013 Possible Victim of Police Brutality

A criminal case has been launched against the 12 police officers responsible for the death of the African American woman on the grounds they “caused death through excessive use of force.” If found guilty, the officers may be sentenced up to 16 years each.

Additionally, 6 years are being sought for the airport doctor on the grounds he “caused death due to negligence.”

Fight breaks out between woman and police

Tracey Lynn Brown arrived at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport at 6:45 am local time (3.45 am GMT) on April 4th, 2013 from Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, on her way to Chicago. She spent 13 hours at the Atatürk Airport International Arrivals Terminal during her layover.

According to security footage, she entered the Passport Control Bureau’s room at 9:48 pm local time (6:48 pm GMT). Getting into an argument with the police there, she was dragged out of the room by the officers about four minutes after entering.

In their testimony regarding the incident, the officers claimed that the woman kept asking about her daughter and refusing to communicate with them in any other way. They added that she was exhibiting extremely aggressive behavior, which was the reason she had been dragged out of the room.

After being dragged out, she stayed in front of the room for a while longer then at 10:01 pm local time (7:01 pm GMT) she departed.

About six hours later, at 4:00 am local time (1:00 am local time) on April 5th, she is once again seen on the cameras facing the room. In the footage, she’s seen taking a running start and trying to climb in the window of the room.

Once inside, the officers claim she began tossing aside computers and documents. She also cut one of the officers attempting to restrain her in the left hand with a pair of scissors she was wielding.

The police eventually handcuffed the woman and took her from the passport control room on the monitoring and transfer room. She was handcuffed to her chair in the new room. It took her less than a minute to free herself from the restraints.

Noticing that she has freed herself, the 6-7 officers in the room pinned her down face first and handcuffed her behind her back. Security footage reveals that for 17 minutes, the police kept her pinned down face first on the ground using their hands, feet and knees. She can be seen kicking her legs in resistance whenever she got a chance.

Doctor just watches without intervening

During this time, the police call over the airport doctor who arrives with a medical team. According to the footage, the doctor identified only as Mesut Ö. watches as the woman is pinned down and doesn’t come into contact with her in any way. According to the criminal indictment and the report by the Forensic Medicine Institute, he has his medical team inject Brown with sedatives.

The doctor and the medical team depart after about four minutes. A short while later, the police remove their knees from the back of the motionless woman. One of the officers notices that she has no pulse and immediately calls back the medical team.

The doctor and his team come back about six minutes after they left the room. Turning her over on her back, the doctor administers CPR on Brown for about seven minutes. Afterwards, he has her rushed to the Bakırköy Dr. Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital.

Brought to the Bakırköy Dr. Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital on April 5th, she was later transferred to the Üsküdar State Hospital later that same day, then transferred again to the Haydarpaşa Training and Research Hospital on April 8th. There she remained under intensive care for 10 days until finally passing on April 18th, 2013.

She remained unconscious throughout the 13 days she received treatment at the various hospitals.

Case launched against officials responsible

The Bakırköy Public Prosecutor investigating the incident received three separate reports from the Forensic Medicine Institute. Each of the three reports linked the actions of the police officers with the cause of death. “Her death was caused by extended pressure applied to her chest and neck,” the report noted.

The first two reports didn’t find any fault with Doctor Mesut Ö.. However, in the final report dated July 2nd, 2014, he was assigned part of the blame. The doctor was accused of not intervening immediately and not establishing face-to-face contact with her, a violation of medical conduct.

Upon these reports, the Bakırköy Public Prosecutor’s Office filed a criminal case against the 12 police officers working the Passport Control Bureau and doctor Mesut Ö.. For the crime of “causing death through excessive use of force,” the officers are being tried for between 12 and 16 years in prison each, while the doctor is being tried for between 2 and 6 years for “causing death due to negligence.”

In their defense testimony during the investigation and the subsequent trial, the police officers claimed that they had remained within the legally authorized limits of force. Denying all charges, the officers argued that the woman had broken into the passport control room, exhibited aggressive behavior and refused to communicate with them. In her second visit, the woman arrived with a pair of scissors that she was waving around and even managed to wound one of the officers.

The officers claimed innocence and asked for acquittal.

The fourth hearing of the case will be held in October.