After the Dallas County medical examiner ruled an Austin man's death a homicide while in the custody of UT Southwestern Medical Center police last year, his family has filed a lawsuit.
Jocelyn Knotts said there are still more questions than answers about what happened last year when her son Kenneth Knotts died on November 29th.
"I know Kenneth had to be in fear. He had to be scared, terrified," said Knotts.
According to a lawsuit filed Wednesday, last fall, Kenneth was traveling from Austin to Dallas when he stopped for a flat tire.
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It said officers who approached him in Hutchins determined he was having a mental crisis and transported him to UT Southwestern.
There, officers from the hospital responded to Kenneth's room for a disturbance and deployed a taser but failed to de-escalate the situation. He fled the hospital on foot before he was cuffed and restrained.
Knotts requested body camera footage of those moments and what happened next. All she knows is that back in the hospital, doctors declared her son dead.
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"The medical examiner determined that this was the result of police restraint, didn't cite anything else," said Knott's attorney, Geoff Henley.
Henley points to a Dallas County autopsy report calling Kenneth's death a homicide, specifying that he "died as a result of sudden cardiac arrest associated with physical restraint and semi-prone position."
Henley asserts it's a case of excessive force.
"This isn't the situation of the officer walking up on somebody, and it's dark, and there's a furtive gesture and these kinds of things. This is they have this person under control and have been contending with him, and they just continue to press or push or position one way or the other," he said.
NBC5 requested a copy of the police report from that day but has yet to receive it.
UT Southwestern did share a statement saying, "We remain saddened by this loss of life and extend our condolences. In compliance with privacy and other regulations, UT Southwestern is unable to provide further comment."
Knotts said she continues to push for answers and body camera footage from that day as she takes her fight to the courtroom.
"I'm not just speaking for me. I'm speaking for everybody that has lost a child wrongfully by the violence of a police officer, anybody, whoever is in the wrong. Make it right," she said.
