Fairfax police seek witnesses to a struggle
before a ‘severely autistic’ man’s death
By Fenit Nirappil
Fairfax County detectives are looking for
witnesses to a struggle in Falls Church between officers and a severely
autistic man who died after the encounter.
Officers who were seeking a missing person
found Paul Gianelos on a commercial strip on Annandale Road shortly after 1 p.m
on April 20. Police said the 45-year-old man became combative for unknown
reasons when they tried to escort him to a cruiser, and in an ensuing struggle,
Gianelos ended up on the ground and in handcuffs.
Medics came to examine an abrasion on
Gianelos’s head and determined he was “suffering a medical emergency,” police
have said in a news release. He died later at a hospital, and autopsy results
are pending.]
Authorities want to talk to passengers of a 3A
Metro bus on Annandale Road heading to East Falls Church that passed by the
struggle, in addition to anyone else driving or walking nearby.
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Gianelos was handcuffed on the 3100 block
about a mile and a half north of Roundtree Park, where he had wandered off from
a lunch organized by a group that helps people with disabilities.
Anyone with information can call Detective
Cara Griffith at 703-246-7526.
The incident is under investigation by the
Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Fairfax County and the county police
department’s Major Crimes and Internal Affairs divisions.
Gianelos had no history of violence and could
not speak, his brother Jim Gianelos previously told The Washington Post.
Fairfax police release names of officers
involved in struggle with autistic man who died
By Justin Jouvenal April 27
Fairfax County police released the names of
the officers who were involved in a struggle with a severely autistic man who
died following the encounter in Falls Church last week.
Police said Wednesday that Master Police
Officer Michael Meszaros, a 25-year veteran, was the first to make contact with
45-year-old Paul Gianelos after he wandered away from his caretakers at
Roundtree Park and they alerted authorities on April 20.
Meszaros and Pfc. Hyun Chang, a six-year
veteran, found Gianelos over a mile away on a commercial strip and tried to
escort the Annandale man back to a police cruiser, police said.
“It was at this time there was a struggle and
the two officers and Mr. Gianelos found themselves on the ground,” police said
in a news release.
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Fairfax County police did not detail what
happened during the struggle or explain how Gianelos and the officers ended up
on the ground. Officer Jessica Kenna and her training instructor, Pfc. Courtney
Young, a 15-year veteran, then arrived on the scene and helped put Gianelos in
handcuffs, police said.
The officers called for a paramedic team to
assess an abrasion on Gianelos’s forehead. After the medics arrived, Gianelos
suffered a medical emergency and the medics began performing CPR on Gianelos,
the release said. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Police said the investigation into the case is
ongoing.
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