HANCOCK COUNTY, Ga. — An independent medical review for Brianna Grier, a Georgia woman who died six days after falling out of a deputy's car, was released on Monday.
Pathologist Dr. Allecia Wilson of the University of Michigan, who did the independent autopsy for George Floyd, was hired to look at the cause of death for Brianna Grier.
She said Monday that Brianna Grier died due to a blunt force impact to her head, which caused swelling in the brain. Her brain shifted from one side to the other because of the swelling; Willson said, in her findings, that Brianna Grier also suffered from a fracture in her skull.
Wilson said that Hancock Sheriff's Office has not released an official autopsy for Brianna Grier and that her report is independent preliminary findings based on the medical reports from Grady Hospital.
They said it could be several months before the official autopsy is released and asked for the results to be turned over sooner. Brianna Grier's attorney and family also begged the sheriff's office to show them all the body camera footage from that night.
Video below | Pathologist presents independent results from Brianna Grier's case
Famous civil rights and injury attorney Ben Crump who has worked on cases including those for George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, joined the family of the 28-year-old at Mt. Zion Second Baptist Church in Atlanta at noon to make the announcement.
Her family spoke at the conference, begging for an explanation not just for themselves but for Brianna Grier's children, who now have to grow up without their mother.
"My granbabies asking me everyday, where's their mother. And I'm thinking they are talking about their grandmother," Marvin Grier, her father, said as he broke down in tears at the conference on Monday. "But I have to send them to their grandmother, because I can't send them to their mother."
A rally was held Monday morning for Grier in Sparta, asking for more answers about her death.
Video | 11Alive streamed the conference at noon
MORE ON THE CASE
The Georgia woman fell out of a moving patrol car following her arrest on July 15. Brianna Grier, 28, suffered two fractures in her skull, went into a coma and died after six days in the hospital, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Mary Grier, her mother, called the Hancock County Sheriff's Office for help because Brianna Grier was experiencing a mental health crisis; two deputies arrived at the home between 12 and 1 a.m. She was detained by Hancock County sheriff's deputies, cuffed, and then placed into a sheriff's transport vehicle without a seatbelt.
The agency said her hands were in handcuffs in front of her, and the rear passenger-side door was not shut. The deputy thought he closed the rear passenger-side door, and the deputies left the scene. They drove a short distance before Brianna Grier fell out of the moving car. Body camera footage reveals the deputies had no contact with Grier from when she was placed in the car until she fell out of the car.
The 10-minute body camera video released in July sheds light on Brianna Grier's interaction with the deputies.