Tase first – Ask questions later….. Sure the kid was freaking, but he was just a kid with no weapons. And could he have been having a bad reaction to medication? Was he being abused in a group home prior to hospitalization? Sad.
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A young hospital patient is tased by Baltimore City Police, then falls into a coma and dies. The department launches an investigation into the officers’ actions at Good Samaritan Hospital.
The death of a 19-year-old hospital patient this week is the focal point of a Baltimore City Police investigation after they say one of their officers tased the teen who was in a violent altercation with Good Samaritan Hospital security earlier this month.
“When they arrived, there was at least five security guards who were engaged in a physical altercation with this 19-year-old attempting to restrain him,” said Lt. Eric Kowalczyk, Baltimore City Police.
Top brass say the teen had been given an unknown amount of medication before they arrived. When officers left:
“The person was breathing when the officers left the hospital,” said Dep. Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez, Baltimore City Police. “It was not learned that the individual was in a coma and was possibly brain dead until several days after this incident.”
Baltimore Police wouldn’t say if the teen was tased multiple times or for how long, only that he was brought to the hospital initially to be treated for emotional distress.
The hospital tells WJZ they’re saddened by the case: “There are sometimes circumstances that threaten the safety of our staff, which necessitate police intervention.”
“What we will be doing now is to look at what role, if any, any of the contributing factors were,” said Rodriguez.
Police say the teen was taken to the hospital from the home he was staying at. It’s unclear if it was a foster home or a group home.
Police are interviewing witnesses and the responding officers. Their findings will be turned over to the State’s Attorney’s Office.