Name: Xavier O’Neal La’Shane Hernandez.
Died: March 2, 2021.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Chlorpromazine toxicity in the setting of physical restraint.
Location: Fort Worth, Texas, USA.
Details:
Xavier was fascinated with electronics and had a talent for working with computers. His aunt remembers him as “smart, energetic, funny.” He attended a special school because he “had high support needs”.
Xavier had no history of violence when seven staff restrained him. After holding him down for a while, they thought he had calmed down, but he was actually unresponsive. An ambulance was called and he was taken to the hospital. Hours later, he was declared dead.
Not long after that, a bystander took video of another student at the same school, a small fourth-grade girl, jumping a fence and being restrained by multiple adults. The girl’s mother was horrified; she had had no idea what her daughter had been enduring. She spoke to her daughter, who confirmed that this was not an unusual incident–that she was routinely restrained, pushed down, slammed to the ground, and sat on. Her mother immediately moved the girl to online education, but other students are still attending the same school, which is still restraining the students.
Xavier’s parents are looking for answers and demanding justice.
References:
Memo sheds new light on Boulevard Heights student’s death after school restraint
Boulevard Heights school student died of effects of restraint and medication
Fort Worth student with autism died after being restrained at school. What happened?
Justice for Xavier Hernandez: Texas School Still Practicing Illegal Restraints after Killing Young Autistic Man
Autism Memorial 