By Cathy Logg and Jim Haley
Herald Writers
EVERETT — Police were trying to determine Thursday how a 17-year-old youth suffered bleeding in his brain after reportedly being involved in an assault and later resisting police attempts to subdue him.
The youth, from the Bothell area, was arrested Wednesday on a misdemeanor assault charge. He was listed in satisfactory condition Thursday at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, upgraded from serious condition, hospital spokeswoman Kristin Foley said.
The boy underwent surgery to treat an internal head injury, Everett police Sgt. Boyd Bryant said.
Snohomish County sheriff’s officials asked the Everett Police Department to investigate and determine when and how the youth sustained the injury that resulted in his hospitalization, Bryant said. There were several instances in which the boy had physical contact with others, including during the arrest and booking process, he said.
At 2:33 p.m. Wednesday, sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a domestic violence call in the unincorporated Bothell area. Officers arrested the youth and took him to the Denney Juvenile Justice Center.
The teen several times resisted both the deputy sheriff who arrested him and juvenile custodial officers, said Dick Carlson, who administers the juvenile center.
The youth was booked on a fourth-degree assault allegation, Carlson said, and tried to kick correction officers. He later refused to follow orders and tried to kick officers in the booking area, Carlson said.
"It looks like they had to continually restrain him. Nothing here indicates he was injured at any time," Carlson said after reviewing reports on the incident.
The reports say a deputy pinned the teen against a wall and told custodial staff that the youth might need some medical attention. A nurse was called to attend to him after he was put in a cell.
When the teen started vomiting later in the evening, Everett paramedics were called. The teen was taken to Providence Everett Medical Center’s emergency room, where he was examined. He was later taken to Harborview.
Carlson, who also administers Snohomish County Superior Court, said his staff will conduct an investigation independent from police.
Police agencies routinely ask other agencies to conduct an investigation in certain situations to protect the professionalism and objectivity of the case, Bryant said.
You can call Herald Writer Cathy Logg at 425-339-3437 or send e-mail to logg@heraldnet.com.
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