Accidentally strangled by handcuffs..

This article disturbs me:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071109/ap_on_re_us/airport_death;_ylt=Avtmf1BTrOD.Q.Vb5QlOIdIDW7oF

So she was drunk and trying to board a plane…to an alcohol rehab center. So she was ranting and raving…because she was drunk and going to a rehab center.

So, the airport police need to cuff a 45 year old lady so tight that she fricking DIES from stragulation when she tries to get out of the cuffs because she was DRUNK (and dont cops know that because of their extensive training?)

What kind of wimpy cops are at airports that can’t restrain a skinny, 45 year old woman without killing her?

Discussed in GQ last month.

Wow how stupid are you?

Yes, but the new info out shows that she was blind drunk; a whole different discussion in my stupid opinion…

Ever tried to restrain an agitated blind drunk?

A question that could be fairly asked of a poster who deliberately insulted another in Great Debates.

Do not do this again.
[ /Moderating ]

Indeed. The discussion SHOULD be about how her supposedly caring family let a suicidal, alcohol and drug addicted woman travel cross country by herself to a rehab facility.

Anybody know which antidepressants? The article references them, but I can’t think of antidepressants per se that would have an additive or potentiating effect in relation to alcohol (i.e., the datum that she was taking antidepressants may not be relevant to her level of intoxication). Now if it’s an anxiolytic like Xanax or an anticonvulsant like Lamictal, I could see it.

You are absolutely right about that, but I feel that the police have been using far too much force lately when it isn’t necessary, like when they tased that kid at the John Kerry speech.

Surely with a BAC of .28, the police would have realized that this lady was drunk. This isn’t a nonsense little .08 DUI where you think you are sober, but not really. That is almost at a comatose level of intoxication.

Now, again, I’m sure that most people could have handled this situation without killing the woman. I know it was an accident, but this is why the policies and procedures need to be examined.

I don’t understand why you associate handcuffs with violence. Handcuffs are used routinely for arrests to protect the officers. Imagine if they had left the woman alone unhandcuffed and she had committed suicide? There would be even more outrage.

I do agree with the over-use of tasers however.

I don’t see where they used too much force here.*They handcuffed an out of control drunken broad to a bench and * BTW that kid was a 240lb (my guesstimate,he’s a lot bigger than me) grown-ass man who was yelling and flailing about.

Where do you get comatose level? She was acutely intoxicated,and out of control. I blew a .513 last time I drank

They shouldn’t have hancuffed an out of control crazed drunken broad to a bench?

No – they shouldn’t have left her alone to die.

That’s why I say that the policies and procedures need to be examined. Just because handcuffs “protect the officers” doesn’t make it a good thing. I’m sure if everyone stayed in their homes 24/7 that a lot more officers would be safe. It doesn’t mean it’s a good thing.

I was arrested when I was 22. I did a stupid thing, but complied with all officer directions. I still sat in the back of a patrol car, handcuffed, with both doors locked and a metal screen between the officer and I.

When I got out, my wedding ring wouldn’t come off of my finger because my hands were swollen.

What “officer safety” was in jeopardy with his metal screen and two locked doors? I asked for the cuffs to be removed, but was told no because it was “just procedure”…

Dude. You either have a serious drinking problem, or you read the charts wrong. A man should be dead at .5 (or did you mean .05) ?

:rolleyes:

I’ve been in a drunk tank back in the day,handcuffed even. I never felt as though: “OMG they’re leaving me here to DIE!!!”

Fercrissakes she wasn’t buried up to her neck in the desert with vultures(sp) circling overhead…

I do

The Doc said He was suprised I wasn’t in a coma.

Not necessarily. Chronic, heavy drinkers can easily reach very high blood alcohol levels. I’ve personally transported a guy who had a blood alcohol of .42, who’s only sign of intoxication was slurred speech! It just takes lots of practice.

St. Urho
Paramedic

No, but she was left alone, and she died. Once they’ve arrested her, they should be taking responsibility for her safety as well as their own.

If by “handled” you mean “let the drunk chick run around like a loon yelling at workers until she tires out”, then yeah most people could do that. Though, who knows, maybe she would have fallen down an escalator and died, then we’d be mad the police didn’t arrest and handcuff her for her own protection. It’s when you actually expect someone (the police) to do something about outrageous behavior, that these sad events happen.

They didn’t place her in danger, they placed her in a room by herself. She brought death into that room all on her own.

I can accept that the police should review their procedures. When there is a death in custody, that should happen.

I will not accept any complaints from the family, and there will be more than enough of those to choose from, I’m sure. They had their chance to care for this woman, and decided it wasn’t worth the effort.

In my own experience the arresting officers nor the correctional officers will sit in the cell with a screaming combative drunk. Mix alcohol and prescription drugs and bad shit tends to happen.