The Nature of Sudden In-Custody Deaths

Abstract

The sudden death of an arrestee, a detainee in police/detention custody, or an individual confined in a mental health facility, after a violent encounter, is an unexpected event that can create a significant impact on the criminal justice system, the community at large, and the medical community. For a number of years, police, correction, and psychiatric entities have undergone sharp public, medical, and legal scrutiny regarding the type and degree of force that was used, as well as the type of restraints that were applied in subduing the resisting person. In a significant percentage of incidents the resisting person exhibits bizarre behavior, combative and violent resistance, requiring multiple personnel to respond and use higher levels of physical force, and varying types of force methods and restraint equipment. The resisting person’s behavior is often related to chemical impairment, symptoms of mental impairment, or both. After restraint has been accomplished, responding personnel notice that the once combative person has become tranquil and unresponsive, requiring medical intervention. Efforts to revive the person by the responding personnel or emergency medical personnel were unsuccessful, whereupon it is determined that the individual is dead, all within a short time after the confrontation.