There are several interesting details in the report of a death-in-custody case where a paramedic at the U.S. Border Patrol thought a man who died of a methamphetamine overdose was actually faking a seizure. After reading it a few times, I had two reactions: so what and someone goofed, badly.
First the ‘so what?’ Many people in police custody will do anything to get out of their predicament. I’m fairly certain that many of you have been called to evaluate a prisoner who was pretending to be ill or injured. It tries our patience. Often we’re frustrated because our protocols require us to manage these “patients” even though we know there isn’t anything wrong.
Second, someone goofed. In a system where people hiding the truth is the norm, it can become very easy to dismiss complaints.
Frankly, I have to salute my brothers and sisters in law enforcement. Their job is to weed through the lies and misperceptions and determine very quickly whether or not to arrest someone. In this incident, the article does not get into detail about the interactions between the suspect and arresting officers in the field, which could have set up a poor dynamic in subsequent engagements between the detainee, other law enforcement officers, and finally the medic.
I’m not offering this as a defense for the officer’s actions. I’m fairly certain that, like most departments, there are protocols and policies in place to request medical assistance for a detainee. Whether the patient met that criteria will come out through the legal process.
Meanwhile, it’ll be worth a few minutes for both law enforcement and EMS providers to review any policies and procedures related to detained patients. As frustrating and inefficient as they can be during actual events, you’ll have to ask yourself whether it’s worth your career to take the risk of not following them.
EMS folks, remember to put aside your opinion and evaluate the individual as a patient, not a prisoner. It’ll keep you safe and give the patient the benefit of the doubt.
