I wonder how much claustrophobia induced by being handcuffed plays into a situation like that.
The howling mob must be appeased.
I can only say the case demands an autopsy.
Has anyone heard more about the carbon monoxide theory (due to proximity to the tailpipe of the cruiser)?
Four policeman couldn't get the guy in a squad car. So Officer Einstein decides to throw him down on the pavement restraining him with his knee. When questioned about it he says "“No, staying put where we got him,” Chauvin responded.
We didn't need this right now. One stupid mistake and the dems will stir up their base and squeeze mileage out of this all summer. The poor officer was probably just too stupid to know what he was doing. This is what doubling down on stupidity looks like.
Table 1: ExDS Prehospital Potential Features and Frequencies with 95% Confidence Intervals
| FEATURE | FREQUENCY % (95% CI) | Pain Tolerance | 100 (83-100) | Tachypnea | 100 (83-100) | Sweating | 95 (75-100) | Agitation | 95 (75-100) | Tactile Hyperthermia | 95 (75-100) | Police Noncompliance | 90 (68-99) | Lack of Tiring | 90 (68-90) | Unusual Strength | 90 (68-90) | Inappropriately Clothed | 70 (45-88) | Mirror/Glass Attraction | 10 |
Law Enforcement
In modern times, a law enforcement officer (LEO) is often present with a person suffering from ExDS because the situation at hand has degenerated to such a degree that someone has deemed it necessary to contact a person of authority to deal with it. LEOs are in the difficult and sometimes impossible position of having to recognize this as a medical emergency, attempting to control an irrational and physically resistive person, and minding the safety of all involved.
Given the irrational and potentially violent, dangerous, and lethal behavior of an ExDS subject, any LEO interaction with a person in this situation risks significant injury or death to either the LEO or the ExDS subject who has a potentially lethal medical syndrome. This already challenging situation has the potential for intense public scrutiny coupled with the expectation of a perfect outcome. Anything less creates a situation of potential public outrage. Unfortunately, this dangerous medical situation makes perfect outcomes difficult in many circumstances.
It is important for LEOs to recognize that ExDS subjects are persons with an acute, potentially lifethreatening medical condition. LEOs must also be aware that remorse, normal fear and understanding of surroundings, and rational thoughts for safety are absent in such subjects.
ExDS subjects are known to be irrational, often violent and relatively impervious to pain. Unfortunately, almost everything taught to LEOs about control of subjects relies on a suspect to either be rational, appropriate, or to comply with painful stimuli. Tools and tactics available to LEOs (such as pepper spray, impact batons, joint lock maneuvers, punches and kicks, and ECD’s, especially when used for pain compliance) that are traditionally effective in controlling resisting subjects, are likely to be less effective on ExDS subjects.
When methods such as pain compliance maneuvers or tools of force fail, the LEO is left with few options. It is not feasible for them to wait for the ExDS subject to calm down, as this may take hours in a potentially medically unstable situation fraught with scene safety concerns.
New study: Perils and protections in dealing with excited delirium
An officer who confronts a subject in the throes of excited delirium stands nearly a 90 percent chance of ending up on the ground in a struggle.
"Once on the ground, “judicious restraint” should focus on preventing the ongoing use of large muscle groups like the legs, to reduce the adverse physiological effects of continued struggle and minimize the subject’s ability to “generate power” for more resistance. (A number of physical restraint techniques have been developed for controlling ExDS subjects, including one credited to instructor Chris Lawrence that’s cited in Baldwin’s paper. For details, see Force Science News #87 at: www.forcescience.org/fsnews/87.html.)
That link goes to a 404 page. The wayback has it:
If more control is necessary, this officer, kneeling at the subject’s head, can apply pressure through his/her hands to the subject’s shoulders, roughly where the rotator cuffs are (not on the spine). “This tends to be more effective than holding the subject’s head,” Lawrence explains, “because a head hold leaves more possibility for the subject to torque his shoulders, move his upper trunk substantially, and try to get up or buck to a more powerful position.”
This might explain why the 3 officer's pinned him down from head to toe.
George Floyd died Monday from a combination of preexisting health conditions exacerbated by being held down by Minneapolis officers,
not from strangulation or asphyxiation, based on the medical examiner’s initial report.
Preliminary findings from a Tuesday autopsy conducted by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner found “no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxiation or strangulation,” according to the criminal complaint filed Friday against former officer Derek Michael Chauvin.
“Mr. Floyd had underlying health conditions including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease,” said the complaint from the Hennepin County Attorney. “The combined effects of Mr. Floyd being restrained by police, his underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death.”
1st,2nd or 3rd degree murder?
From various cases, especially Freddie Gray’s in Baltimore, it appears that claiming to have medical problems is not infrequently claimed by experienced criminals to get them on an easier track, and sit for a few hours in an emergency room before they are tested for drugs. That might lead experienced cops to discount the seriousness of claimed medical and breathing problems, which in some cases might be real. No idea if that entered into the Floyd case, and, even if it did, it would be an explanation, not an excuse.
p
Suuuuure - no way 9 minutes of pressure on a carotid artery - nearly 3 minutes even after he became unresponsive, could have anything to do with it
