Twin Cities: Drugs killed man who was Tasered

[nyffman]

http://www.startribune.com/local/north/17298379.html

Autopsy report lists police restraint as a contributing factor in the Fridley man's death.

By JIM ADAMS, Star Tribune

Last update: April 4, 2008 - 8:46 PM

March 14: Months after man was hit with Taser and died, no answers
Jan. 17: Father wants answers in son's death following Taser jolt
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An unarmed Fridley man Tasered after a freeway crash died of acute cocaine and other drug abuse, according to an autopsy report released Friday that said crash injuries, heart conditions, physical exertion and police restraint were contributing factors.

In a separate report, the State Patrol said Mark Backlund, 29, was stunned on Jan. 15 because he verbally and physically resisted troopers' requests and tried to drive away even though bystanders were in front of his car.

Backlund was en route to pick his parents up at the airport when he crashed into a central median barrier on Interstate 694 during the evening rush hour in New Brighton. He was unconscious after being Tasered and died that night at a Fridley hospital.

"My son didn't have a weapon and he is Tasered? It doesn't make sense," his father, Gordon Backlund, said Friday. "Why Taser an accident victim sitting in a car?"

Backlund said that the family's car was totaled and that he didn't know whether it could be driven after the crash. He said he has many questions and would like to see the full autopsy and investigation report before commenting further.

"It is hard enough as a father to deal with death," Backlund said. "It is a very difficult time for us."

After the incident, authorities said the driver's side of Backlund's car was wedged against the median. Five troopers and other motorists who had stopped were at the crash scene.

Responding to a Star Tribune open records request, the State Patrol provided part of a Use of Force report filed about the incident. The patrol declined to comment on the report or provide details about what happened.

In March, Tim O'Malley, head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), which is investigating the case, said the Taser was used after Backlund refused customary, safety-related requests made by a trooper "responding to a single-car crash on a very busy interstate highway during rush hour. Those requests related to the well-being and safety of the driver and other people and motorists on the highway."

The BCA has forwarded its report along with the autopsy findings to the Ramsey County Attorney's office. It will take a few weeks to review it for possible charges against the troopers, said Phil Carruthers, director of the office's prosecution division. He said it is routine for county attorneys to review officer-involved shootings. But office attorneys could recall only one other Taser-related death a few years ago in St. Paul. In that case, police stunned a man on drugs who later died from cocaine delirium, Carruthers said.

Underlying health conditions

In the United States, more than 290 people have died since June 2001 after being struck by police Tasers, according to the human rights group Amnesty International. A 2004 study from the group shows many of those who died had underlying health problems such as heart conditions or mental illness or were under the influence of drugs. Many also were subjected to repeated or prolonged shocks.

Backlund's death certificate, filed Friday by the Anoka County Medical Examiner, cited the cause of death as mixed drug use, including acute cocaine abuse. Tests also detected marijuana, a painkiller and other drugs. Contributing factors included police restraint and heart conditions, including severe hardening of the arteries.

County Medical Examiner Janis Amatuzio said through an assistant that she would not elaborate on what police restraint was used.

The Use of Force report said troopers tried to control Backlund by using a "soft empty hand," then a "hard empty hand" before firing the Taser.

A soft hand usually means using grasping techniques, maybe a wrist lock or twisting an arm behind the back to control someone, said Paul Monteen, standards coordinator for the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training. A hard hand could be a blow with a fist, and an empty hand means without a baton or weapon.

Monteen said it seems that the troopers followed what is called a use of force continuum, beginning with verbal commands, then using open hand restraint, closed fist punches and greater force as needed to meet the force presented.

"If one thing does not work, you go a little higher instead of pulling out the weapon," he said. He said Tasers are generally considered a less lethal weapon, like a baton or night stick.

"It sounds like they tried to use the best practices of their policy," Monteen said. "That would fit the general policy and training that the Legislature has mandated for law enforcement in Minnesota."

The patrol's four-page policy on Tasers says they can be used to control a person who is, or is reasonably expected to become, violent, physically aggressive or who endangers himself, a trooper or others if the trooper didn't use the Taser.

The Backlund case was the State Patrol's only Taser-related death since troopers started carrying the weapons in August. Before that, during a one-year pilot test, troopers displayed Tasers 27 times and fired them 33 times, with no known health-related incidents, according to the Public Safety Department.

Monteen said it seems that the troopers followed what is called a use of force continuum, beginning with verbal commands, then using open hand restraint, closed fist punches and greater force as needed to meet the force presented.

"If one thing does not work, you go a little higher instead of pulling out the weapon," he said. He said Tasers are generally considered a less lethal weapon, like a baton or night stick.

"It sounds like they tried to use the best practices of their policy," Monteen said. "That would fit the general policy and training that the Legislature has mandated for law enforcement in Minnesota."

The patrol's four-page policy on Tasers says they can be used to control a person who is, or is reasonably expected to become, violent, physically aggressive or who endangers himself, a trooper or others if the trooper didn't use the Taser.

The Backlund case was the State Patrol's only Taser-related death since troopers started carrying the weapons in August. Before that, during a one-year pilot test, troopers displayed Tasers 27 times and fired them 33 times, with no known health-related incidents, according to the Public Safety Department.

[Aceq2jot]

http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_8813228?source=rss

State medical reports say cocaine and a combination of other drugs caused the death of Mark C. Backlund, the 29-year-old Fridley man who died after being subdued by a State Patrol Taser in January.

Backlund died of "consequences of mixed drug use," according to information on the death certificate filed today. Besides cocaine, he had Tramadol, Quetiapine, Lamotrigine, Buspirone and Cannabinoids in his system, the report said.

Tramadol is a pain reliever. Cannabinoid is derived from cannabis. Quetiapine is used to treat symptoms of schizophrenia, mania and bipolar disorder. Lamotrigine is an anticonvulsant. Buspirone is used to treat anxiety disorders.

On Jan. 15, Backlund crashed his car on Interstate 694 in New Brighton. Five state troopers showed up at the scene to assist him but ended up using the stun gun on Backlund because they said he was uncooperative.

Other factors that contributed to his death included the physical exertion and restraint, administration of the sedative Midazolam, inflammation of the heart muscle and severe hardening of the arteries of his heart.

The manner of death could not be determined, according to the report.

Just goes to show what drugs will do to your Body

But i am sure the family and his wife will say he never did drugs etc etc etc.

[nyffman]

I fugured ace would be relieved/happy/vindicated/ to read this. I'm pretty sure we had a thread on this when it happened but I can't find it now.

[Aceq2jot]

I fugured ace would be relieved/happy/vindicated/ to read this. I'm pretty sure we had a thread on this when it happened but I can't find it now.

It just goes to show what drugs will do to ya


And it goes to show Tasers are not Dangerous and do not kill people Which i hope all the nay sayers read the articles in the news paper's and see that tasers dont kill people and neither do the cops.

[nyffman]

I fugured ace would be relieved/happy/vindicated/ to read this. I'm pretty sure we had a thread on this when it happened but I can't find it now.

It just goes to show what drugs will do to ya


And it goes to show Tasers are not Dangerous and do not kill people Which i hope all the nay sayers read the articles in the news paper's and see that tasers dont kill people and neither do the cops.

Now I am confused. Are you refering to the guy who died, or yourself for ranting(not that there's anything wrong with that) on occasion, or me for not being able to find the other thread(I hear there's drugs to help me with that too)?

[Aceq2jot]

I fugured ace would be relieved/happy/vindicated/ to read this. I'm pretty sure we had a thread on this when it happened but I can't find it now.

It just goes to show what drugs will do to ya


And it goes to show Tasers are not Dangerous and do not kill people Which i hope all the nay sayers read the articles in the news paper's and see that tasers dont kill people and neither do the cops.

Now I am confused. Are you refering to the guy who died, or yourself for ranting(not that there's anything wrong with that) on occasion, or me for not being able to find the other thread(I hear there's drugs to help me with that too)?

All of the Above

[Fubar]

"My son didn't have a weapon and he is Tasered? It doesn't make sense," his father, Gordon Backlund, said Friday.

Sure it makes sense. It definitely makes more sense than shooting your son with a firearm or whacking him with a baton. I suppose they could have just continued asking nicely.

"Why Taser an accident victim sitting in a car?"

Even accident victims aren't allowed to run people over.

[BRIT_in_the_weeds]

The video STILL HAS NOT been released.
Mr B has more than a mustard seed right now.

[Fast351]

And it goes to show Tasers are not Dangerous and do not kill people Which i hope all the nay sayers read the articles in the news paper's and see that tasers dont kill people and neither do the cops.

In the United States, more than 290 people have died since June 2001 after being struck by police Tasers

I bet there are at least 290 people that would disagree with you.

Call it what it is, "less lethal".

Someone with a heart condition that is tasered and died, who would not have died had it not been for the tasering, was still killed by the taser, no matter how clever the ME makes out the autopsy report.

[Aceq2jot]

And it goes to show Tasers are not Dangerous and do not kill people Which i hope all the nay sayers read the articles in the news paper's and see that tasers dont kill people and neither do the cops.

In the United States, more than 290 people have died since June 2001 after being struck by police Tasers

I bet there are at least 290 people that would disagree with you.

Call it what it is, "less lethal".

Someone with a heart condition that is tasered and died, who would not have died had it not been for the tasering, was still killed by the taser, no matter how clever the ME makes out the autopsy report.

So what yu are trying to say is that the struggle with the LEO's did not trigger a heart atack??

So this person with a heart ailment would be fine going for a jog and not dropping dead??

And what about the people with a cocktail of illegal drugs in thier system??

I was involved in a deployment of chemical agent once, where the person who was sprayed heart stopped 5 times in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

Was it the chemical agent?? Or was it the 4 diffrent illegal substances in his system??

I suggest that people who dont believe that physical struggles can result in a heart attack go out there and get in one let me tell you them few minutes in a scuffle put a lot of strain on the body and are very draining.

If we all could tell when we were going to have a heart attack, i think things may be diffrent. But in the society of Obese unfit people we live in today the fact of a physical altercation can result in such stresses to the heart.

[David]

Let's just skip the Tasers and go right for the sidearm. That'll make all these people shut up.

It's kind of like when people slam medical device manufacturers when their difibrilators don't fire. Sure, some people die because their device didn't work, but how many were saved when it does?

[Squib Joe]

Video of Backlund arrest has been released:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=dad_1210277221

[BRIT_in_the_weeds]

Watched the dad get his copy of the DVD from the State Patrol.