Police: Restraints, Taser used on Va. inmate before death

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Police say an inmate who died in custody after a Taser stun gun was used on her had also been in restraints that included a lightweight mesh hood called a spit net.

A news release issued Thursday by Fairfax County Police also indicates that 37-year-old Natasha McKenna had assaulted a sheriff's deputy on Jan. 31 while incarcerated at the county jail.

On Feb. 3, Fairfax County deputies used an emergency response team to move McKenna out of her cell ahead of a transfer to Alexandria for being combative. Police say McKenna resisted officers, who used not only a stun gun, but also a restraint chair and the spit-net hood.

Police say the restraints were removed after deputies saw she was in medical distress.

She died five days later.