Politicized State Medical Examiner's Office Says Greensboro Police Committed Homicide

The word "homicide" is a legal term. It is a term used by prosecutors.

It is NOT a medical term. It is not even a medical description or diagnosis.

Yet, today we learned that the State Medical Examiner's Office issued its report in a contentious case involving Greensboro police officers; and essentially accused the police officers of homicide.

A black male had died in the custody of our police nearly two months ago. The story making its way around the internet was that the gentleman was "hog-tied". Local anti-police forces have said this is a dangerous method of restraining a suspect. He was in a prone position-- on his belly-- when he was "hog-tied" in order to restrain him.

Here is what Triad City Beat-- a publication that hates police intensely-- said about the State Medical Examiner's report:

Based on the autopsy findings and circumstances surrounding the death, as currently understood, the cause of death is listed as sudden cardiopulmonary arrest due to prone restraint; n-ethylpentalone, cocaine and alcohol use; and hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease,” the autopsy states. “The manner of death is classified as homicide.”

The autopsy notes that toxicological testing performed on Smith detected n-ethylpentalone — described as “a drug commonly sold purported to be MDMA/ecstacy” — along with “a low level” of cocaine, and a blood alcohol level measured at 30 mg/dL.

The city released the video of the incident today. It reveals an extremely agitated, delirious middle aged black male running in zig-zag fashion in the street, placing himself at risk of being struck by a vehicle. The police were trying to help him. They had to get him to the hospital; and they faced the confounding task of immobilizing him so that he could be brought to the ER. They were reasonably gentle performing the task they were trying to complete. I did not see anything they did that would have caused the black male to die.

The autopsy lists three drugs found in the gentleman's system. A combination of multiple drugs of this type, including alcohol, can have unpredictable effects.

One of these drugs-- n-ethylpentalone-- is problematic because it

"can cause circulation problems, lethal heart palpitations and hallucinations". ^[7] It has been linked to a number of overdose deaths...

Alcohol itself can be problematic when withdrawal results in delirium tremens, otherwise known as "DT's". I do not know whether this gentleman was in DT's, but I think that ought to be investigated. 

Here is what Wikipedia says about DT's:

Mortality without treatment is between 15% and 40%.

That means DT's can kill people. And again, this gentleman seemed to be demonstrating agitation and confusion that could be consistent with DT's.

Emedicine states the following: 

The most common conditions leading to death in patients with DTs are respiratory failure and cardiac arrhythmias. 

Readers must understand that this gentleman was experiencing delirium. Delirium obviously occurs in DT's. But it also occurs in other medical circumstances that can lead to death, including but not limited to heart problems.

I don't know how the medical examiner's office arrived at the conclusion that the gentleman died of sudden cardiopulmonary arrest due to prone restraint. Would an otherwise healthy male in his age group, drug-free, have died if restrained in this manner? I highly doubt it. 

The classification of the situation as homicide reeks of political manipulation. The state medical examiner's office is part of the state Department of Health and Human Services. This is an executive agency under the control of Governor Roy Cooper-- a democratic socialist. It almost seems they wanted to blame the situation on police. What evidence did they offer that prone restraint caused the gentleman to die? I haven't seen any as of yet.

Something smells in Denmark, and it ain't Greensboro police. These police officers doubtless would have preferred not to have to deal with an agitated gentleman in these circumstances. They handled this situation for all of us. I have had to deal with these situations in the medical setting; and it isn't fun.

People need to cut these police officers a break. They were trying to do the right thing. They are now being placed at risk of a malicious prosecution or other types of litigation when they were trying to help the gentleman.

The deceased gentleman's family is all "lawyered up". I don't know whether they are seeking a financial settlement. But the city has set a precedent by handing out wads of cash whenever situations arise involving police. Word has doubtless gotten around.

Comments

[Fred Gregory]

Yeah "people need to cut the police officers a break."

Don't count on it. Not our City Council or the N&R.

Remember the Dejuan Antonio Yourse settlement. Coming our way.

[Triad Conservative]

Unfortunately, Fred, you are right. People are unwilling to look at the bigger picture objectively. This gentleman who died probably did this to himself. I suspect he is ultimately responsible-- not the police. That might be difficult for people to hear, but you have to look at the totality of the circumstances.