The family of Ohio native Everette Howard has lost its patience following the release of an inconclusive report it hoped would tell them how their son died, according to NBC affiliate News 5.
University of Cincinnati public safety officers responded to an assault in progress and tased Howard when he didn't step down in August of 2011, according to police reports.
Howard, who was 18 years old then and enrolled in a summer college preparatory program at the university, entered cardiac arrest, and doctors pronounced his death on the following morning.
Nearly a year after the tragedy, the precise cause of death has yet to be determined. Howard’s family is beginning to demand answers, threatening to take legal action of their own.
The Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammar, who works at the Mayo Clinic, stated that despite ten months of testing, they are no closer to the truth than on the night Howard died. Sammarco said that though the clinic was conducting additional tests, they would likely take up to three months to process. He added that the results were unlikely to produce evidence regarding cause and manner of death.
Sammar extended his sympathy to the Howard family in a news release.
“....It is always tragic to lose a loved one but particularly a child,” Dr. Sammarco said. “Despite the tremendous efforts of the coroner's staff, it is frustrating not to be able to ascertain a definitive cause of death."
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