Photo by Adam Gerard

Two special police officers have been indicted on involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of a 74-year-patient at MedStar Washington Hospital Center last fall.

James McBride left the hospital without being discharged on September 29. When two security guards, Clifton Montgomery and Charles Brown, encountered him, McBride “became non-compliant” and a struggle ensued. The two officers and a third “utilized hand controls to restrain” him. McBride died two days later.

D.C.’s Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide from “blunt force injuries of the neck, with cervical spinal cord transection and vertebral artery compression.”

Montgomery and Brown each face a maximum of 30 years in prison for the involuntary manslaughter charge.

After the incident, MPD initiated an investigation into the procedures for licensing special police officers, who have arrest powers after undergoing 40 hours of training in the District.

A few months later, a 27-year-old man died after being found handcuffed in the custody of security guards with special police powers. Alonzo Smith’s death was also ruled a homicide. Mayor Muriel Bowser released footage from that case, the first time the city made body-worn camera video available to the public.