On May 2nd, 2023, Life After the Impact invited Annemarie Grant on the show to talk about the fight for justice for her brother, Thomas Purdy, who died on October 8th, 2015, after being hog tied while in custody of the Washoe County Jail.Purdy was having a mental health crisis at the Peppermill casino where he often visited and was a guest. He was acting erratically and security guards tried to evict him from the property, eventually detaining Purdy. They claimed Purdy “struggled” with security guards, but police investigators later found a recording of one of the guards bragging that he had "dragged (Purdy) down the steps" outside of the casino. Casino security called Reno police officers who immediately arrested Purdy for trespassing.At the Washoe County Jail, Purdy repeatedly told the Sherriff’s deputies that he couldn’t breathe as his hands were tied behind his back and attached with a strap to his ankles — also known as being “hog tied.”“I can’t breathe, ma’am,' he told the jail intake nurse and asked to be sent to the hospital, but instead of medical attention they kept Purdy face down still hog tied for 40+ minutes and 4 deputies put their knee and full body weight on Purdy. Eventually Purdy stopped breathing and he never regained consciousness.An investigation into Purdy's death by the Sparks Police Department found no criminal wrongdoing. The Washoe County Medical Examiner ruled Purdy’s death a homicide by "complications of excited delirium," the same initial “diagnosis” given as the cause of death for George Floyd. But the medical examiner also ruled that the actions of law enforcement officers contributed to Purdy's death directly f stating that if not for the restraint and physical force applied to him by police, it’s unlikely Thomas would have experienced cardiopulmonary arrest when he did.It should be noted that “excited delirium” is a term that has been misapplied and used disproportionately to justify law enforcement-related deaths. Following the death of George Floyd, the American Medical Association’s (AMA) itself forcefully asserted their opposition to the term’s use, stating that there not currently evidence to support “excited delirium” as a medical diagnosis nor a legitimate basis to justify excessive force.Since her brother’s death, Annemarie has fought tirelessly for impacted families across the U.S and the get justice for her brother & his case reopened. She is currently part of a coalition in Boston working to end qualified immunity. Join us to talk about the work being done to demand Justice in Thomas’s cases & the on-going legislative and policy work which Annemarie, in coalition with other impacted families, has been a leader in advancing.