WTVF Nashville
July 11, 2007
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.- A teenager who lived at a residential treatment center for youth talked about what he witnessed when another teenager died at the center.
A state investigation released Wednesday is critical of the way Chad Youth Enhancement Center counselors restrained the victim the day before he died.
In an exclusive interview with NewsChannel 5, a teenager who saw part of what happened talked about what he witnessed with media for the first time.
"I seen it. It was scary," said Malik Jernigan.
Malik was in the center June 2 when another teenager was restrained by counselors.
"I seen it right through the door window," Malik said.
The teenager said he saw a counselor grab 17-year-old Omega Leach around the neck.
"The staff got up, turned around, got behind him and choked him with his hand like that," Malik said. "Whenever they choked him, he was picked up by his arm. When he was let go he was choking and he had a heart attack."
The medical examiner has not determined a cause of death.
Leach died the next day at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Two days later Malik's mother pulled him out of the center.
"This is my kid," said Deborah Jernigan. "He's here to get help not be killed or hurt while he's here."
That same day the Tennessee Department of Mental Health launched an investigation. That report was released Wednesday.
In the report, Chad officials told the state Leach attacked a staff member which prompted one counselor and then another to restrain the teen for seven to eight minutes. A nurse checked for a pulse, but couldn't find one.
An inspector visited the center and found problems. He said the center was not following state rules and even violated its own policies.
The report said, "Chad has violated its own policy and procedures and the physical hold utilized on June 2 was not a result of imminent danger to the safety of residents, staff or others and as a last resort."
The report also said the facility did not properly document cases of alleged abuse, medical problems, accidents and illnesses and actions taken to treat those conditions.
The state told the center to file a plan to correct the situation through better training of employees.
The center has filed the plan, and the state inspector has accepted it.
The state inspector has worked with the center to come into compliance with state rules.
The center has filed a plan to correct the problems, which the state has accepted.
The center cannot admit new residents. The state inspector recommends the admission hold not be lifted until the end of the month at the earliest.
The inspector plans weekly trips to the facility to make sure they're following the rules. It will be up to the state's mental health commissioner to decide if the youth center is following the rules. She's expected to make a decision by the end of the month.
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