The executive director of a group that’s seeking to investigate the death of an eleven-year-old Mason City boy says they may have to go to court. Tanner Wilson died at the Gerard of Iowa center last week during what Gerard officials called a “routine physical holding”. Iowa Protection and Advocacy Executive Director, Sylvia Piper, says Gerard of Iowa center workers gave their group a cold reception Wednesday when they asked to get into the facility to investigate.Wilson, was a mentally disabled boy who had lived at the center for the past 15 months. A medical examiner is attributing the death to respiratory arrest. Piper says under federal law, her agency is allowed access to mental health facilities, and not being let into Gerard is a great concern for her.Piper says she has not heard back from Gerard officials in trying to confirm who the group is. Piper says they’ll take legal action, if needed, to try and gain entrance into the facility. Mason City police and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are investigating Wilson’s death and are allowed into the center.
