Ohio Appoints Special Prosecutor to Investigate Double Amputee’s Restraint and Death
Tasha Grant, a 39-year-old double amputee, was being detained at the Cuyahoga County Jail in Cleveland, Ohio. On May 2, 2025, after 15 days in the jail, Grant—whose legs were amputated years earlier—complained of chest pain and was taken to the MetroHealth Medical Center. Several days later, as Grant was receiving treatment at the hospital, officials claim she “threw herself onto the floor” and “would not cooperate.” In response, three MetroHealth officers and a sheriff’s deputy restrained Grant by applying pressure to her back against the side of the hospital bed, as video later showed. Minutes after Grant was handcuffed to the bed and officers left the room, she was found unresponsive.
The following month, Grant’s death was ruled a homicide by the county medical examiner, which found that the physical restraint slowed the detainee’s breathing and, subsequently, caused her heart to stop. The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department opened an investigation into Grant’s death, appointing a special prosecutor as part of that review. “She had no legs. Why would they restrain her down like that?,” Marcellus Potter, who shares an 11-year-old son with Grant, told The Marshall Project.
In October, Cuyahoga County Sheriff Harold Pretel faced growing calls to allow an independent investigation into the recent deaths of three Black women. In addition to Grant’s death, two other women were killed in separate high-speed chases led by a unit of the sheriff’s department. Advocates believe an outside investigation is necessary in Grant’s case because a sheriff’s deputy participated in restraining her at the hospital.
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