Death of Youth at Leake & Watts Center in Yonkers Is Investigated The police and state officials are examining a surveillance video that recorded the death of a 16-year-old boy at a private residential treatment center in Yonkers this week as staff members physically restrained him on the floor after a basketball game. The boy, Corey Foster, who was a resident student at the center, Leake & Watts, became "unresponsive" about 8 p.m. on Wednesday, while three staff members were holding him down in an approved technique called "Therapeutic Crisis Intervention," Meredith Barber, a spokeswoman for the center, said. The staff members released their hold and began CPR as soon as they noticed the teenager's state, she said, and called 911 as well as the center's medical staff. "As part of our cooperation with police in this investigation, we've provided a video of the event," Ms. Barber said Friday. It was recorded by a surveillance camera in the gym, where 38 youths and 14 staff members had been playing basketball before the episode. "We have no indication that protocol was not followed," she added. We also have no confirmation that the cause of death is related to the therapeutic hold, at this time. We just don't know. The New York State Office of Children and Family Services, which licenses such residential programs, has begun its own investigation, a spokeswoman, Susan Steele, said Friday. Its regulations require each authorized agency to maintain daily records of the numbers and types of restraints used, she said. Citing confidentiality laws, Ms. Steele would not answer questions about Corey. Neither would the New York State Education Department, which oversees the school components of the program, where most of the 70 residents, like Corey, have been placed by local education committees because they need special education. About 20 percent of the residents are in foster care. Outside Leake & Watts, which was founded in the 1830s as an orphanage and is now located on 30 acres on the Hudson River, several of the dead boy's friends spoke of their love for him and protested the way he had died in interviews posted on LoHud.com, the Web site of The Journal News of White Plains. "It was a restraint, but at the same time, it was like foul play," said Antonio Reeder, 17, a classmate. They were all on top of him. Malik Legree, another witness, agreed, saying, "It's not supposed to be where you're gasping for your life." According to an account given to The Journal News by another witness, William Green, the episode began when staff members tried to clear the basketball court so they could play, and several boys, including Corey, continued playing. In that account, a confrontation escalated, and Foster was "taken down" by several staff members who continued to restrain him though he complained that he could not breathe. Those accounts were challenged by Ms. Berber, the Leake & Watts spokeswoman, who said, "Unfortunately I'm not really at liberty to discuss exactly what happened at the event." She said all staff members were trained in using restraining holds as a last resort, as part of a therapeutic crisis-intervention system, known as T.C.I., widely used with emotionally disturbed children. While at recreation at the gym, the young man became agitated. Staff attempted to intervene and de-escalate the situation, all per T.C.I. protocol," she said. And after that was not successful, he was placed in a therapeutic hold. Corey was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Yonkers. The Yonkers police have been interviewing the staff members and witnesses. A detective who declined to give his full name said he could not discuss the videotape. "It's still under investigation, and we have no comment at this time," the detective said. The staff members involved have been placed on administrative leave, which is routine policy, Ms. Barber said. Grief counselors are working with staff members and students, and a candlelight vigil was held for Corey on Thursday night. "A terrible tragedy occurred, and we're all very sad," she said. We're a community in mourning.