HERNANDO, Miss. — District Attorney John Champion confirmed he has reviewed the preliminary autopsy report for Troy Goode, who died over the weekend after a run-in with Southaven police.
He said the information suggested Goode died from a heart-related issue.
Champion said Southaven Police asked him to review the case after it garnered a great deal of interest and concern after video surfaced of Goode on a stretcher, reportedly face down and “hogtied”.
“I’m not using that term. Okay, I refuse to use that term, because that’s not what this is,” Champion said.
Champion said Goode was kicking violently towards officers and EMS employees, and that’s when they put leg irons on him.
The leg irons were attached to handcuffs.
A family member reportedly told police on the scene that Goode had taken four to five hits of LSD.
According to reports, Goode and his wife were on their way home from a concert when Goode got out of the car and began running around near Goodman Road.
Champion told WREG Goode refused to comply with police orders, and even opened the door of a K-9 unit and was bitten on the hand.
Champion went on to say that using the leg irons like the police officer did was within the law.
“I don’t see where the officers did anything wrong,” Champion said.
Kevin McCormack, an attorney representing the Goode family, disagreed.
“LSD did not take Troy Goode and hogtie him. LSD did not place him facedown, hogtied with his head strapped down on a stretcher. The Southaven Police did that,” McCormack said.
McCormack refused to comment about Goode’s alleged drug use but asked the Mississippi Attorney General to look into the officers’ conduct.
Champion said the claim that Goode could not breathe was taken out of context when the people recording the video referenced the publicized phrase from a case in New York.
Champion said the preliminary results suggested the way Goode was lying on the stretcher did not kill him.
Final toxicology information has not been released yet.
A professional who specialized in addiction told WREG this week that LSD was prevalent in the area.
She said overdosing on LSD alone is uncommon, but many people run into trouble when pairing it with other drugs.
A Facebook post indicated supporters of Goode were gathering on Main Street in Southaven Tuesday night to peacefully march.
