Among the protesters that died on Jan 6 was 34-year-old Roseann Boyland from Kennesaw, Georgia.
Dallas-native Phillip Anderson was among the protesters at the U.S. Capitol on that day. He claims that he held Boyland’s hand while she died and that Capitol police committed murder.
“When she stopped screaming, she reached out and grabbed my hand,” Anderson told The Dallas Express. “I was there holding her hand getting crushed to death myself.”
“When she let go of my hand, I started screaming myself because I figured if she’s dead, then I’m going to die down here too,” Anderson continued, saying that he also fell unconscious. “I was lucky enough to get my arm over my head before all these people fell on top of me, but Roseanne Boyland probably wasn’t so lucky. I don’t think she was able to get in the right position before she got slammed and crushed by all that weight.”
Photos posted by the Gateway Pundit show an unconscious Anderson being dragged away from the scene by fellow protesters.
Footage obtained by The New York Times shows Capitol police pushing protesters who had gathered in a tunnel that leads to an entrance of the Capitol building at around 4:20 p.m.
“They pushed all these people on top of us and they wouldn’t let us get up. They kept pushing and pushing and pushing,” Anderson added of the Capitol police. “They killed Roseanne Boyland, and the truth won’t be told. It’s disgusting.”
Boyland was unconscious when she was eventually dragged inside the Capitol building by police at about 4:31 p.m. Law enforcement attempted CPR and defibrillation, before placing Boyland in an ambulance at 5:10 p.m.
However, the ambulance did not depart towards George Washington University Hospital until 5:40 p.m. At 6:09 p.m., she was declared dead. No official word has been given as to why the ambulance waited half an hour to depart for the hospital.
The D.C. Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death was amphetamine intoxication. Boyland was prescribed Adderall to treat ADHD, but Boyland’s family disputed the ME’s claim and hired Park Dietz & Associates to review the autopsy findings. The Park Dietz forensic pathologist ruled that the cause of death was compressional asphyxia.
“Compressional asphyxia refers to a situation in which pressure exerted on the chest or back of an individual impedes normal breathing and often leaves no diagnostic physical findings,” reads a summary of the Park Dietz report provided to The Epoch Times by the Boyland family.
Amphetamine toxicity “was not the proximate cause of Ms. Boyland’s death, although it cannot be ruled in or out as a contributory factor,” the pathologist wrote. “The circumstances surrounding Ms. Boyland’s death are not consistent with a drug overdose as the proximate cause and cannot be ignored.”
The Boyland family is also upset by a video recently obtained by The Epoch Times that allegedly shows D.C. Police Officer Lila Morris striking Boyland three times with a baton while the woman was lying unconscious.
“No matter whether Rosanne was alive or not, we were shocked and appalled at the officer’s attack,” Bret Boyland, Rosanne’s father, said.
Troubled by the use of force, Gary McBride of Decatur, Texas, filed a complaint against Morris with the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in September 2021.
McBride wrote to the D.C. Metro Internal Affairs Bureau on September 14. “It doesn’t matter if you are a protester, preacher, or politician; you should be held accountable for your actions.”
Two months later, in November 2021, Capt. David K. Augustine wrote back to McBride, saying, “The use of force within this investigation was determined to be objectively reasonable.”
Use-of-force expert Stanley Kephart, a 42-year law enforcement veteran and former director of security for the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, disagrees and calls Morris striking Boyland a felony assault with intent to cause great bodily harm.
Kephart called the use of force “indefensible” and the internal-affairs investigation of Boyland’s death a “clear and convincing coverup” in an interview with The Epoch Times.
After the publication of Kephart’s interview with The Epoch Times, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson Alaina Gertz provided an emailed statement.
“The matter involving Officer Morris was previously brought to our attention and reviewed thoroughly. This review included her body-worn camera footage, and did not substantiate the allegations you have outlined,” Gertz said.