Nurse aide acquitted of manslaughter in patient’s restraint death at DC psychiatric hospital

Man acquitted in DC psychiatric patient’s death

WASHINGTON — A former mental health counselor at a Washington psychiatric hospital has been acquitted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of an unruly patient who was forcibly restrained.

Authorities said Calvin Green grabbed 39-year-old Mark Harris around the neck and lay on top of him as Harris turned blue and foamed at the mouth.

Harris, who was mentally ill and intellectually disabled, died Jan. 9, 2007, at St. Elizabeths Hospital.

A jury found the 54-year-old Green not guilty Friday after about a day of deliberations.

The defense argued that Green used reasonable force to control Harris, a large man known for violence. Other hospital employees who were present didn’t intervene. Green worked at St. Elizabeths for 30 years, including as a nursing assistant.