Current:Home > ScamsAt least 17 people died in Florida after medics injected sedatives during encounters with police -Elevate Profit Vision
At least 17 people died in Florida after medics injected sedatives during encounters with police
View
Date:2025-04-12 18:40:36
At least 17 people died in Florida over a decade following a physical encounter with police during which medical personnel also injected them with a powerful sedative, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found.
Three of the fatal incidents occurred in Orlando. Others were reported across the state, from Tallahassee to Tampa to West Palm Beach. Two incidents involved drugs administered by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue paramedics.
The deaths were among more than 1,000 that AP’s investigation documented across the United States of people who died after officers used, not their guns, but physical force or weapons such as Tasers that — like sedatives — are not meant to kill. Medical officials said police force caused or contributed to about half of all deaths.
It was impossible for the AP to determine the role injections may have played in many of the 94 deaths involving sedation that reporters found nationally during the investigation’s 2012-2021 timeframe. Few of those deaths were attributed to the sedation and authorities rarely investigated whether injections were appropriate, focusing more often on the use of force by police and the other drugs in people’s systems.
The idea behind the injections is to calm people who are combative, often due to drugs or a psychotic episode, so they can be transported to the hospital. Supporters say sedatives enable rapid treatment while protecting front-line responders from violence. Critics argue that the medications, given without consent, can be too risky to be administered during police encounters.
Florida was among the states with the most sedation cases, according to the investigation, which the AP did in collaboration with FRONTLINE (PBS) and the Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism.
The AP investigation found that medical officials in Florida played a key role in promoting the use of sedatives to try to prevent violent police incidents. And, in 2006, a grand jury that investigated the cases of people who had died after they were shocked with Tasers in Miami-Dade County recommended squirting the sedative midazolam, better known by its brand name Versed, up their noses.
Miami-Dade paramedics soon adopted this strategy, despite concerns that the drug could cause respiratory depression. Other emergency medical services agencies in Florida later became early adopters of the sedative ketamine.
The Florida cases involved several sedatives, including ketamine, midazolam and an antipsychotic medication called ziprasidone.
AP’s investigation shows that the risks of sedation during behavioral emergencies go beyond any specific drug, said Eric Jaeger, an emergency medical services educator in New Hampshire who has studied the issue and advocates for additional safety measures and training.
“Now that we have better information, we know that it can present a significant danger regardless of the sedative agent used,” he said.
The drugs were often given as treatments for “excited delirium,” an agitated condition linked to drug use or mental illness that medical groups have disavowed in recent years. The controversial syndrome traces its roots to Miami in the 1980s.
___ The Associated Press receives support from the Public Welfare Foundation for reporting focused on criminal justice. This story also was supported by Columbia University’s Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights in conjunction with Arnold Ventures. Also, the AP Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
___
Contact AP’s global investigative team at [email protected] or https://www.ap.org/tips/
___
This story is part of an ongoing investigation led by The Associated Press in collaboration with the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism programs and FRONTLINE (PBS). The investigation includes the Lethal Restraint interactive story, database and the documentary, “Documenting Police Use Of Force,” premiering April 30 on PBS.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Kim Zolciak Shares Message About Love and Consideration Amid Kroy Biermann Divorce
- For Many Nevada Latino Voters, Action on Climate Change is Key
- Wildfire smoke blankets upper Midwest, forecast to head east
- Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
- As the pandemic ebbs, an influential COVID tracker shuts down
- 'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed' chronicles Nan Goldin's career of art and activism
- Emotional Vin Diesel Details How Meadow Walker’s Fast X Cameo Honors Her Late Dad Paul Walker
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Family caregivers of people with long COVID bear an extra burden
Ranking
- Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
- Trisha Yearwood Shares How Husband Garth Brooks Flirts With Her Over Text
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Involved in Near Catastrophic 2-Hour Car Chase With Paparazzi
- US Olympic ski jumper Patrick Gasienica dead at 24 in motorcycle accident
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- Over-the-counter Narcan will save lives, experts say. But the cost will affect access
- Losing Arctic Ice and Permafrost Will Cost Trillions as Earth Warms, Study Says
- Losing Arctic Ice and Permafrost Will Cost Trillions as Earth Warms, Study Says
Recommendation
Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
To safeguard healthy twin in utero, she had to 'escape' Texas for abortion procedure
Prince Harry Shared Fear Meghan Markle Would Have Same Fate As Princess Diana Months Before Car Chase
This Racism Is Killing Me Inside
Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
Study Finds Rise in Methane in Pennsylvania Gas Country
Growing Number of States Paying Utilities to Meet Energy Efficiency Goals
The Truth Behind Paige DeSorbo and Craig Conover's Confusing AF Fight on Summer House