Retired St. Paul Police Officer Felicia Reilly died Saturday. Her family believes her death was the result of an on-duty attack that left her with traumatic brain injury.St. Paul PD
Retired St. Paul Police Officer Felicia Reilly, 67, died Saturday — 15 years after an assault on the job left her with a traumatic brain injury.
Her family said her death was a result of the injuries she sustained that resulted in her experiencing constant pain.
The St. Paul Police Retirement Association claims Reilly is the first female St. Paul officer to die from injuries received on the job, KARE reports.
"It's been 15 years of a long, painful road and it's done now," said Matthew Reilly, Felicia's eldest son.
On March 24, 2010, Reilly was attacked while responding to a domestic dispute. According to Reilly's family, Thomas Swenson kicked Reilly in the back of the head multiple times. A jury found Swenson guilty of first-degree assault, fourth-degree assault and obstructing the legal process, and he was sentenced to 8 1/2 years.
"Over time, the damage she received in that assault... some of the damage was to her brain. Some of the damage was to her vagus nerve... controls a lot of your bodily systems. Over time, things break down," Matt said.
