Mother files federal lawsuit alleging daughter's 2022 death caused by Alexandria officers

A forensic pathologist's autopsy found a woman died from complications from blunt force injuries, ruling her death a homicide, and a federal lawsuit accuses Alexandria Police Department officers of causing that death.

The lawsuit was filed May 16 by the mother of the dead woman, Rose Marie Taylor, and also alleges officers signed papers that said Taylor refused treatment at a hospital despite her repeated requests for medical assistance.

Taylor was found unresponsive in her Rapides Parish Detention Center No. 1 cell on May 19, 2022, two days after her arrest by Alexandria officers Brian Frost and Matthew Frost, according to the lawsuit.

Jermaine Harris, the attorney for Rosa Lee Taylor, said it's his "understanding" that Brian Frost is Matthew Frost's father.

A spokesperson for the city, Michael Caffery, said Wednesday the city has received the lawsuit but cannot make any comments on pending litigation, including clarifying the relationship between Brian Frost and Matthew Frost.

The lawsuit also names the city of Alexandria and Sheriff Mark Wood as defendants.

The sheriff's office also had no comment because the lawsuit is pending, said Tommy Carnline, chief of staff.

Lawsuit alleges mistreatment during arrest

Rose Taylor was taken into custody on May 17, 2022, while outside the Siegel Select, a multi-floor extended stay hotel on MacArthur Drive. She was sitting in the driver's seat of a GMC Yukon visiting with her girlfriend, a hotel guest who was standing outside the Yukon, according to the lawsuit.

Brian Frost and Matthew Frost pulled into the parking lot in separate patrol cars, blocking the Yukon. Matthew Frost walked up to Taylor, who had her door open, and referred to her as a man, then asked her for identification. Taylor said she had none on her, it reads.

It states Brian Frost told Matthew Frost to have Taylor step out of the vehicle, but both ended up removing her from the Yukon.

The lawsuit contends Taylor wasn't resisting as she was being handcuffed, but that the two officers caused her pain. She told officers they were breaking one of her wrists, it reads. It alleges that she was pushed chest first onto the hood of the patrol unit twice during their encounter.

A search of Taylor found suspected drugs, reads the lawsuit. Taylor's girlfriend also was handcuffed, but online jail records do not reflect anyone by her name being booked into jail.

The lawsuit alleges neither officer gave Taylor a reason for her arrest. It states Matthew Frost's report said he saw Taylor slumped over the wheel of the Yukon, but also states his body camera video shows Taylor sitting up in the seat as he approached her.

It also claims body camera video from Brian Frost showed him replying to Taylor, when she asked what she did, that he didn't know.

"Moments later, (Brian Frost) stated, 'Well, call it loitering'," reads the lawsuit.

Harris said no decision has been made yet on releasing any of the body camera video.

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Taylor and Matthew Frost argued as he drove her to police headquarters. She complained about being slammed on the hood like a man, while Frost allegedly laughed at her and called her a "dumbass," it reads.

It states she told an unidentified Alexandria officer what allegedly had been done to her while she still was in Frost's patrol car and then she told deputies about it when she was taken by Frost to the Rapides Parish Detention Center No. 1 for booking.

She expressed concern her left wrist and hand could be broken and said she wanted to get medical treatment. But she told deputies she did not want Frost to take her.

"An unknown deputy can be heard on ... Frost’s bodycam footage telling RM Taylor that the nurse said that RM Taylor had to get medical treatment," reads the lawsuit. "RM Taylor presented visible signs of injury including swelling to the deputies."

Another officer, Alexander Helminger, was summoned to take Taylor to Rapides Regional Medical Center, and the lawsuit alleges he had to tell Frost to step away from Taylor because he grabbed her wrists and caused her to scream as he handed her over to Helminger.

But the lawsuit also alleges Helminger told Taylor on the way to Rapides that nobody at the hospital wanted to hear about how she was injured. Frost also arrived at the hospital, it reads.

Both men allegedly told Rapides staff that Taylor refused medical treatment.

"Defendant Helminger signed a written refusal of medical care on behalf of RM Taylor without her consent and Defendant ... Frost signed the document as a witness," it reads.

Helminger took Taylor back to jail and, during the ride, Taylor kept saying she wanted an X-ray, according to the lawsuit. But Helminger ignored her and turned up music to drown her out, it claims.

Taylor told jail staff that she wanted to be treated and that Frost had been present, even though she didn't want him there. She told one deputy that Helminger and Frost refused medical treatment when she wanted it. She asked the deputy what if her arm is broken.

"Defendant Helminger can be heard on his body cam video stating that, 'That sounds like a personal problem,'” reads the lawsuit.

May 19, 2022, and beyond

Taylor was found unresponsive two days later. She was treated with Narcan at the jail because deputies thought she had overdosed. According to the lawsuit, she suffered a seizure for eight to 10 minutes before the arrival of Acadian Ambulance.

It says Acadian was delayed getting to the jail because an elevator at the downtown Alexandria facility was not working. Taylor went into cardiac arrest and had no pulse, so medical personnel began CPR. At Rapides, she was put on a ventilator. A drug screen found narcotics in her system, it reads.

Among other conditions and injuries, an exam found Taylor suffered brain and acute kidney injuries.

Taylor's mother signed a do-not-resuscitate order, and Taylor died on the evening of May 30, 2022. She had no survivors other than her mother, according to the lawsuit. She was 39.

An autopsy was performed three days later by Dr. Christopher Tape, a forensic pathologist who has testified in numerous Rapides Parish homicide trials through the years and has been accepted as an expert witness at those trials.

According to the lawsuit, Tape's autopsy found an adrenal hematoma on the left and a healing renal capsule laceration — or kidney trauma, also on the left — with local hemorrhaging, as well as pale kidneys.

An adrenal hematoma is the rupturing of blood vessels in the adrenal glands, which are found above the kidneys.

Tape found Taylor's pale kidneys were indicative of hypoperfusion, which means the organs showed reduced blood flow. She also had healing abrasions on both of her wrists and bruises on the metacarpophalangeal joint of her left hand (the point at the first knuckle where the hand bones meet the finger bones), along with a swollen hand.

In his opinion included with the autopsy, Tape wrote the adrenal hematoma can lead to death.

"Additionally, Dr. Tape found that the hematoma is unilateral and that there is a roughly adjacent healing renal capsule laceration indicating that the cause of the hematoma is blunt force injury or injuries," reads the lawsuit.

He ruled the cause of Taylor's death to be "complications due to blunt force injuries with contributions of hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and obesity," it reads.

Tape found Taylor's manner of death to be homicide.

The lawsuit claims Brian Frost and Matthew Frost "directly caused" Taylor's death because of the injuries she received during her arrest.

What the lawsuit seeks

The lawsuit makes nine claims against the defendants, including that Brian Frost and Matthew Frost used excessive force and violated Taylor's Fourth and 14th Amendment rights. It contends Taylor was handcuffed and posed no threat to either officer, nor was she a flight risk and that both officers "acted with shocking and willful indifference" to her rights.

It claims Helminger also violated Taylor's 14th Amendment rights, along with the other two officers, by failing to provide medical care.

It alleges Brian Frost and Matthew Frost unlawfully detained Taylor and had no probable cause to do so and that all three officers conspired to deprive Taylor of her rights under the Fourth and 14 Amendments.

As far as the city and Wood, the lawsuit contends both failed to properly train and supervise its employees and also failed to retrain or discipline employees. It points out that Brian Frost was fired from the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office in mid-2019 after an investigation into payroll fraud and alleges the city was aware of this when he was hired.

It asks for compensatory, wrongful death and other damages, including "special damages in an amount to be determined at trial." It seeks punitive damages against all three officers, as well as attorney's fees and costs.

None of the defendants have responded yet to the lawsuit. No hearings currently are scheduled.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Lawsuit: Alexandria woman died in homicide caused by police officers