INGRAM, Texas -- The weekend death of a 12-year-old Kerrville boy at an Ingram residential treatment center has been attributed to suffocation while being restrained, according to an autopsy.
A staffer at Star Ranch placed Christening "Mikie" Garcia in "a basket hold" as the emotionally disturbed youngster tried to bang his own head on the pavement. With his arms across his chest and hands held from behind by the staffer, Garcia stopped breathing Sunday evening and couldn't be revived, officials said.
Before ruling on the manner of death, Kerr County Justice of the Peace Bill Ragsdale is awaiting the results of toxicology tests and investigations by state and local authorities.
Ragsdale said investigators will look into whether "the person who restrained (the boy) did so intentionally, knowingly or recklessly and what their training was."
Garcia had been placed by the state at the camp in August. Most of the boys at the ranch have learning disabilities or emotional problems.
Rand Southard, director of the private, nonprofit Star Ranch, said that he's confident that the staffer followed guidelines.
He said that the staffer performed a state-approved "basket hold" after all other options were exhausted and Garcia's behavior escalated.
"We're all upset that this happened," Southard said. "We desperately try to take care of the children in our care. This is a terrible accident."
Ragsdale said Travis County Medical Examiner Roberto Bayardo reported that the autopsy and on-scene circumstances led him to conclude "that the decedent came to his death as a result of suffocation during physical restraint."
Southard said that the staff member who restrained the boy has not been charged with a crime and is on leave until the investigation is complete.
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