Aspies For Freedom

Autopsy: Autistic man died from suffocation, not Taser

Associated Press
7th Feb 2006


DES PLAINES, Ill. An autopsy shows that a 30-year-old autistic man who died during a struggle with Des Plaines police did not die from being shot with a Taser gun.

Instead, the Cook County medical examiner's office says Hansel Cunningham died of asphyxiation from being held face down while he was subdued by an officer.

Cunningham died November 20th after police responded to a disturbance at a group home for autistic and mentally handicapped people.

Police say Cunningham bit a caregiver and fled when officers arrived.

The officers used a Taser gun and pepper spray to subdue him.

The autopsy also shows that a sedative administered by paramedics did not contribute to Cunningham's death.

Illinois State Police is investigating the incident.

Medical Examiner Rules Taser Didn't Kill Illinois Autistic Man
Updated: February 7th, 2006 11:24 AM EDT
  
FRANK MAIN
Chicago Sun Times


Asphyxia -- and not a Taser's electrical jolt -- killed a 30-year-old autistic man during a struggle with Des Plaines Police last year, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Hansel Cunningham suffocated from being placed face down with an officer's hand on his back, said a spokeswoman for the medical examiner. His hands were cuffed behind his back, the spokeswoman said. Police were trying to subdue Cunningham at the group home where he lived after he severely bit a caregiver on the hand and arms.

A 50,000-volt charge through the wire-attached darts of a Taser stun gun did not contribute to his death, according to the medical examiner's office. Neither did medication a paramedic administered to sedate Cunningham, the office said. The dosage was either too small -- or was not circulating in his blood stream because he was already dead, the spokeswoman said.

Cunningham was restrained for up to four minutes before he died, according to the medical examiner's office. He continued to run around after he was shocked by a Taser, pepper-sprayed and hit by a baton, the spokeswoman said. Then he fell and was restrained.

Des Plaines Police Chief Jim Prandini could not be reached for comment on the medical examiner's ruling, which was reported last week to the State Police's public integrity task force investigating the death. In the past, Prandini said his officers had used appropriate force to subdue Cunningham.

A State Police spokesman declined to comment.

In July, the Cook County medical examiner's office ruled the death of Ronald Hasse was caused by a Taser a Chicago Police sergeant used to subdue him. Hasse's body contained high levels of methamphetamine, listed as a contributing factor in his death. The ruling was the first of its kind in the nation.

Civil rights groups, such as Amnesty International, were closely watching the results of the Cunningham autopsy. The organization has called for law enforcement agencies to suspend the use of Tasers, saying more than 120 people have died after they were shocked by the devices since 2001 in the United States and Canada.

3-POINT HOLD TECHNIQUE DANGEROUS

Cunningham's death was similar to the way Gregory Riley died in 1999 during a drug arrest. A Chicago Police officer told the medical examiner's office he put a knee in Riley's back while another officer held his legs as Riley was face down. The city settled a lawsuit brought by Riley's family for $225,000.

Many police departments, including Chicago's, discourage the use of a three-point kneeling technique to handcuff a suspect because of the possibility of inflicting such "positional asphyxia."

A 1995 Chicago Police training bulletin alerted officers of "potentially dangerous restraint positions that must be avoided during custodial arrest and transportation," including "restricting a subject's chest from expanding properly."

"Do not put weight on an arrestee's back, such as with your knee, for a prolonged period," the bulletin added. "This practice adds stress to the respiratory muscles and inhibits movement of the diaphragm and rib cage."

At the time of the settlement, a police spokesman said the department was preparing to distribute training materials that advise officers that chokeholds "are not the proper use of force."

fmain@suntimes.com

Death of autistic man ruled homicide

By Carolyn Rusin,
Chicago Tribune
Tribune staff reporter Brendan McCarthy contributed to this report
February 8, 2006


Des Plaines police went too far last fall in attempting to subdue an autistic man, a lawyer for his family said Tuesday after the Cook County medical examiner's office ruled that asphyxiation was the cause of the man's death.

Hansel Cunningham, 30, who had lived in a group home in Des Plaines, died Nov. 20 during a struggle with three officers who used a stun gun and pepper spray before wrestling him to the ground and handcuffing him.

A spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office said Cunningham suffocated while being held face down on the ground. His death was ruled a homicide, according to the spokeswoman, though it will be up to the state's attorney's office to decide whether charges would be filed against the officers.

The stun gun was not the cause of death, said the examiner's spokeswoman, who cited office policy as the reason she could not be identified by name

"He was face down with handcuffs on behind his back when he was being held down by police," she said. "I don't know if he was being held down for all that time, but there is a four-minute window where he was being restrained."

Officers had responded to a call that Cunningham attacked and bit a caretaker at the group home, operated by Evanston-based Rimland Services NFP.

Richard Burke, a Chicago attorney representing Cunningham's family, said the medical examiner's ruling suggests that the death could have been averted.

"There are well-known procedures for police officers to adhere to in restraining civilians," said Burke, a partner in the Clifford Law Offices. "It appears that those were not followed here and it contributed to the unnecessary and untimely death of a young, autistic man."

Burke said his firm's investigation of the incident is close to being completed.

Police said Cunningham had the potential to harm himself and others.

The officers involved--a woman and two men--twice used a stun gun on him before holding him down while paramedics injected a sedative.

The officers were given administrative duties "for a few days" immediately after Cunningham's death, said Des Plaines Police Chief Jim Prandini. But they have returned to normal patrol.

"At the time of the incident, we were trying to subdue a person," said Prandini, who has not seen the medical examiner's report. "There was no criminal intent involved here."

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local...&cset=true