WTH is it with police and people with breathing issues?
If he wanted to breathe he should have asked the cop for permission. /sarc
Police are poorly trained to deal with people who have breathing problems. Worse yet, much of what police are trained to do will aggravate breathing problems in susceptible individuals.
Police are not paramedics. However, they do need to be able to recognize critical medical conditions and use appropriate procedures for them, other than the standard demands for compliance.