I know I give cops a lot of shit on here when they screw up. This case out of El Paso is not one of those times. Let’s watch the video, then we can discuss it.
Watching the video, it appears like this man is on some sort of drugs. This isn’t a mental health breakdown in my opinion. The cop uses his TASER.
There are some in comments to the above post, claiming the TASER was used too many times and stopped the man’s heart. That’s not the case. A TASER delivers 3 joules of energy. A defibrillator delivers 200-360 joules to an adult heart. There simply isn’t enough energy in a TASER to stop a person’s heart. In the cases of in-custody death that occurred after TASER deployment, it turns out the decedent had cocaine on board nearly every time.
One thing that may have contributed to the death was something called positional asphyxia. When a person is handcuffed with his hands behind his back and is placed in a prone position, the chest can’t fully expand and the person can die as a result. In that case, the cops would have been at fault to at least some extent. A person whose hands are cuffed behind him MUST NOT be placed in a prone position, especially if they are already exerting themselves in an attempt to breathe, such as immediately following an extended wrestling match with arresting officers, as per guidelines from the US Department of Justice.
The cause of most explained in-custody deaths is a little-known phenomenon called positional asphyxia, in which body position interferes with the ability to breathe. Several pre-existing factors are identified that increase an individual’s susceptibility to positional asphyxia, including cocaine-induced frenzied behavior, other drugs and/or alcohol intoxication, violent struggle resulting in restraint of subject, and unresponsiveness during or immediately after struggle. A subject’s pre-existing risk, coupled with their body position when subdued or in transit, can combine to substantially increase their risk of sudden death from positional asphyxia.Â
This is why I recommend to all paramedics and nurses that they not transport or treat anyone whose hands are cuffed behind their back, especially not in a supine or even prone position. The patient should be sitting up, or can have both hands cuffed to a bed or stretcher. The Joint Commission (TJC) standards outline strict rules and requirements for managing patients in restraints or seclusion, emphasizing that these measures are high-risk emergency interventions.
Hospitals must have explicit written protocols detailing continuous or frequent observation:
- Patients must be monitored continuously or at frequent intervals determined by hospital policy (often documented every 15 minutes)
- Restraining a patient in a prone (face-down) position is highly restricted due to the severe risk of positional asphyxia; patients should typically be kept in a supine position with the head of the bed elevated if aspiration is a risk
- Staff must regularly assess and document the patient’s physical status, including vital signs, skin integrity, circulation in restrained limbs, hygiene, and the offering of nutrition, hydration, and toileting
Still, I think (looking at this video) the base cause here was whatever drugs were in this man’s system.
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