The Portsmouth Circuit Court Clerk’s office confirmed on Friday a new charge against Vincent McClean, a now retired Portsmouth police officer, for voluntary manslaughter in connection to the death of Carmeita Vangilder, a pregnant woman who died while in police custody.
A grand jury filed the new indictment against McClean on Thursday, the same day he was acquitted of other manslaughter charges in the 2018 death of Willie Marable III.
A lawsuit filed by Vangilder’s family in 2020 says the incident that led to the 28-year-old woman’s death in December 2018 started in a Walmart parking lot. Two officers, McClean and Tania Beale, were approached by an unnamed woman who told them a homeless woman, later identified as Vangilder, would not get out of the woman’s car. The officers determined that Vangilder had an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court and arrested her.
Vangilder had several aerosol cans in her purse, indicating she was involved in huffing inhalants, the lawsuit said. After Beale put her in handcuffs, Vangilder said several times that she wanted to sit because she did not feel good, according to the lawsuit. She “coughed repeatedly,” groaned and retched while being put in the police car. McClean denied her water, the lawsuit said, and she “continued to make distressed noises.”
During her pleas for assistance, McClean “continued to loudly unwrap and eat candy,” the suit said. Vangilder threw up in the police car and at the station. Her vomit had foam and mucus in it, according to the suit. Vangilder’s estate alleges McClean “made statements after Ms. Vangilder’s death, downplaying Ms. Vangilder having told him she felt sick.”
Vangilder begged for help but wasn’t given any until another inmate at the jail intervened on her behalf, the suit claimed. The lawsuit also claims Vangilder spoke with McClean and another officer about her pregnancy, and the two officers found hospital discharge papers from an emergency room visit that stated she was pregnant.
She went into cardiac arrest and died at the police station, the lawsuit said. Vangilder’s family alleges if police had acted sooner, she would not have died. The case was settled, with the city paying her family $550,000.
While in custody, the lawsuit alleges Vangilder “continually retched, doubled over, and called out to the officers, her face contorted in pain. She cried. She could not keep her head upright for any period of time, but continually could be seen hunched over with her head drooping at her waist.” The lawsuit said events at the police station are “less clear” since video footage is incomplete. Footage of Vangilder did not include audio, and the holding cell video jumps ahead by several minutes “numerous times.”
In a response, McClean’s defense states that he and his actions bore no responsibility for Vangilder’s injuries or death. McClean admits he was present with Vangilder in the police car, and “Vangilder coughed and asked for water.” He admits he did not provide water, since he did not have any, but he denies she made concerning sounds or that she was “clearly in distress.” He claims another officer showed him evidence of possible drug use. McClean denies that Vangilder ever said she did not feel well, which is why he did not take her to the hospital.
“McClean asserts that there was no indication that Ms. Vangilder was in distress or in need of medical care,” a portion of the response reads.
The response states McClean admitted that Beale said Vangilder threw up, but the response says McClean repeatedly denied he was aware Vangilder vomited in the back of the police car. The response goes on to say McClean “specifically denies that Ms. Vangilder vomited, believing only that Ms. Vangilder spit on the back of the police car.” He also denied that the vomit contained foam. The response also states that McClean was unaware she was pregnant until after she became unresponsive. Later, the response says McClean was not aware she was unresponsive until he was on his way to clean the spit out of the back of the police car at a car wash.
According to the response, McClean admits he entered Vangilder’s cell and had “brief conversations” with her, and at this time, there was still no indication she needed medical care.
The Portsmouth commonwealth attorney’s office declined to comment on any current or future indictments against Beale related to Vangilder’s death.
Gavin Stone contributed to this report.
Eliza Noe, [email protected]
