AURORA, Colo. (AP) - The Aurora Police Department has released body camera video obtained by Denver7 Investigates that shows an officer encouraging paramedics to give sedatives to a suspect to calm him down, the news station said.
The officer is heard on video telling the paramedics to “give him some juice to go to sleep” before paramedics inject the suspect with ketamine, a rapid tranquilizer, KMGH-TV reported Thursday. The video was made public through an open records request.
The incident was recorded in March 2019 after two suspects allegedly got into an argument and fight over cigarettes. A police report said arriving officers attempted to search for weapons and ended up bring one of the suspects to the ground after he got aggressive.
Video shows an officer then asks paramedics for a powerful sedative. An Aurora Fire paramedic then injects the restrained suspect with 450 milligrams of ketamine, despite his pleas against it, authorities said.
The administration of sedatives is a medical decision, and not one drug police are supposed to be initiate or ask paramedics to perform, officials said.
The video has raised questions and sparked concern about the use of sedatives in law enforcement.
Five months before the incident, paramedics injected Elijah McClain with a heavy dose of ketamine in a separate incident after incorrectly estimating his weight. McClain then went into cardiac arrest before dying in the hospital a few days later.
Ketamine is a fast-acting anesthetic that quickly knocks a person out. The drug is regularly used in hospitals, but paramedics are increasingly using it to help police arrest suspects they feel are out of control.
“This is certainly a subject of mutual concern,” Baltimore City Fire Department Medical Director Dr. Ben Lawner said. “These are very difficult encounters. In our own jurisdiction, we mandate a 100% review of these calls involving ketamine.”
The Aurora Police and Fire departments declined to speak to Denver7 Investigates and provided lengthy statements instead.
“This incident occurred nearly two years ago, long before the national conversation surrounding the use of ketamine,” Police Chief Vanessa Wilson said. “Officers have already been reminded they are not to suggest or attempt to direct medical treatment.”
Aurora Fire Rescue said in its statement the “Aurora Police Department does not influence our decision making for treating patients,” and that its paramedics maintain medical control.
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