The family of a man who died after being handcuffed by the Irondale Police Department said a mental health crisis led to his death. Phillip Reeder, 53, died on Aug. 6, 2024.
Police responded to U.S. Highway 78, near Old Leeds Road, where callers reported seeing a man running in and out of traffic. Officers said Reeder refused to comply and appeared to be under the influence and behaving erratically. They deployed a Taser to subdue Reeder after determining he was a danger to himself and the public.
Police said after being handcuffed, Reeder continued to struggle with officers for nearly two minutes. After realizing he had stopped breathing, officers performed CPR, but Reeder died. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) conducted the investigation.
Reeder's wife, Sandra Reeder, said her family's hearts are heavy after viewing footage from four body-worn cameras from that day. The family held a press conference Monday, stating that what police have released is not the truth. Sandra Reeder claimed an officer had his knee on Reeder's neck for three minutes.
The Jefferson County Coroner's Office ruled the death a homicide and the cause of death as a combination of hypertensive heart disease, cocaine and restraint during an altercation. The ALEA found no wrongdoing on the part of the officers.
Attorneys for Reeder's family said that due to the mental health crisis, medical personnel should have responded. They accuse officers of not attempting to de-escalate the situation and ignoring Reeder's calls for help, as he said he was unable to breathe.
The City of Irondale maintains that no excessive force was used during the incident.
"Officers did hold Mr. Reeder to the ground using their arms only," the city said in a statement. "No knee was placed in the back of his neck, and no excessive force was used. Mr. Reeder stopped resisting, and the officers realized that he had stopped breathing. They immediately turned him over, checked for a pulse and began CPR until the paramedics arrived."
"... The City of Irondale and the Irondale Police Department support our police officers and do not believe they did anything wrong as to Phillip Reeder," the City added.
Civil rights attorney Harry Daniel urged people to petition lawmakers to change laws on the release of body-worn police footage.
Reeder was the owner of Reeder Construction.
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