The Allen County Coroner’s Office has officially released the cause of death for the 75-year-old Black woman who died in May, shortly after a physical altercation with employees at a Tim Hortons restaurant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which, as we previously reported, was celebrated by racists across social media, who seemed happy to watch an elderly Black woman perish after a fight with a much younger, much whiter employee and that employee’s co-workers.
According to WPTA, on Tuesday, the coroner’s office released its findings, reporting that Anita Grayson had an acute exacerbation of congestive heart failure in the setting of a physical altercation. It’s important to note that the coroner’s office has not released an official manner of death, meaning the medical examiners know what Grayson died from, but they have not determined how her death occurred or whether or not it was a homicide. However, the coroner’s office said in May, before the cause of death was determined, that the autopsy findings noted “no significant contributory injuries,” and medical examiners reiterated that note on Tuesday.
As we reported previously, the Fort Wayne Police Department said Grayson entered the Tim Hortons location on May 13 to complain about her drive-thru order. The police claim she then began arguing and “berating” a 17-year-old employee. In video footage of the incident, Grayson is seen arguing with the teen, who appears to lightly shove her, prompting her to shove them back before appearing to strike them in the face, prompting the teen to beat on her and continue to strike her after she fell to the ground. At that point, other employees got involved, although it’s not made clear to what extent in the video.
The viral video footage immediately prompted an online debate regarding who was ultimately at fault, and because the altercation involved a Black woman and a white teen, many of the comments about Grayson were racist, and the fact that Grayson was a senior citizen just didn’t matter.
It’s worth noting that, according to WPTA, the footage released by the Fort Wayne Police Department on May 19 was edited. Grayson’s family was eventually allowed to see the full video, and while it’s unclear what new information, if any, that unedited footage revealed, but the family is still advocating for the unedited video to be released to the public, which FWPD has declined to do thus far.
SEE ALSO: