Reports clear police, criticize hospital in death of arrested man

Associated Press

DULUTH, Minn. - An independent review has cleared Duluth police in the death of David Croud last fall, but other reports Monday criticized some of the actions taken by St. Mary's Medical Center after his arrest.

Croud, 29, died Oct. 18, six days after being taken into custody with a blood-alcohol content of 0.31 percent, over four times the legal limit to drive.

"The autopsy reports make it very clear he did not die because of any injury received from the time he was taken into custody and transported to St. Mary's (Medical Center)," Washington County Attorney Doug Johnson said during a news conference Monday. "Therefore, it's my conclusion that David Croud did not die as the result of abusive behavior by the Duluth Police Department."

No criminal charges will be filed, he said.

But other reports released Monday cited other possible factors in Croud's death, including his face-down position on a gurney and the way he was restrained in the hospital, the Duluth News Tribune reported.

Johnson said officers did not kick or hit Croud - a member of the White Earth Band of Chippewa - that and no derogatory or racial comments were heard directed toward him. The Taser stun gun that police tried to use to subdue Croud was not properly charged and did not work, he said.

James Croud was disappointed by the findings about his younger brother's death.

"We had hoped that there would be some justice in this case, but as it turned out that didn't happen," Croud told the newspaper Monday evening. He said the Croud family will continue to seek the help of the American Civil Liberties Union before deciding whether to file a civil lawsuit.

St. Louis County Attorney Alan Mitchell in October asked Johnson's office to review the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's investigation into Croud's death and decide whether criminal charges were warranted against any member of the Duluth Police Department.

Two Duluth police officers arrested Croud after a struggle Oct. 12. He started bleeding from his head, probably from a bloody nose. Croud was spitting blood at the officers, so a cotton "spit mask" was placed over his mouth and nose to protect them from his saliva or blood.

An autopsy determined in November that Croud died of lack of oxygen to his brain due to cardiopulmonary arrest from the combination of acute alcohol intoxication and the administration of Haldol, an anti-psychotic drug commonly used on agitated patients.

On Monday, St. Louis County Medical Examiner Thomas Uncini mentioned for the first time other potential factors in Croud's death, including the possible presence of coagulated blood in the spit mask, the fact that Croud had a narrowed coronary artery, and Croud's face-down position on a gurney at the hospital.

Pat FitzGibbons, a special investigator for the Minnesota Department of Health, was critical of how St. Mary's handled Croud.

The hospital staff did not do enough to ensure that Croud was put on his back or side, he wrote, either when Croud was admitted or after he'd calmed down after he was given Haldol. He wrote that the staff did not order Croud to be repositioned until 44 minutes after his admission, even though his position - lying on his stomach, with his hands cuffed behind his back - put him at risk for breathing problems.

Dr. Hugh Renier, vice president of medical affairs for St. Mary's, said hospital officials were working with the health department and police to revise policies and practices for dealing with patients brought there in similar situations.

"The real gist of this is that it was a real tragedy of a case," Renier said. "These cases are always difficult, when patients come in in this type of a situation. The hospital has tried hard to learn from this case and is working hard to improve the care of patients."

Robert Powless, chairman of Duluth's American Indian Commission, was encouraged that the law enforcement leaders at Monday's news conference told him they would be willing to meet with the commission to explain their findings in greater detail.

"It's a tough uphill battle to try to make something good come out of something so bad," Powless said afterward.

Police Chief Roger Waller called Croud's death a tragedy for Croud's family and for the officers and their families. He criticized news reports that he said depicted the officers as "brutal thugs" and compared the incident with the videotaped police beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles in 1991.

"This incident bears no resemblance to Rodney King," Waller said. "The officers involved are professionally trained and are not the brutal thugs they have been portrayed as."

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The fatal David Croud incident

Robert Boone
Reader Weekly

David Michael Croud died on the afternoon of October 18, six days after losing consciousness during his detention by Duluth police.  Police reported that Croud was intoxicated and harassing customers outside Fond-du-Luth Casino at approximately 6 p.m. on October 12.  They claim he resisted arrest and was brought to St. Mary’s Medical Center where he stopped breathing and was placed on life support. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (MBCA) is investigating witness allegations that police were un-necessarily aggressive and bloodied Croud’s face against a stone wall during the arrest and that an electroshock weapon was deployed against Croud after he was restrained and in police custody. The MBCA has interviewed eight police officers so far in it’s investigation.

The Mancini Interview

Mike Mancini, owner of Downtown Computer, witnessed the October 12 Duluth Police Department detention of David Croud outside his business at 203 E. Superior St.  Mancini and two of his employees had stepped onto the sidewalk in front of his storefront at approximately 6 p.m.  Mancini didn’t notice Croud until the policemen were already confronting him.

Mancini saw the officers (one uniformed, one plainclothes) approach Croud. “They had him pinned face first against the sandstone wall of our building,” he told the Reader. Croud was non-combative while the officers repeatedly thrust him against the wall while attempting to handcuff him.  At this point, Mancini asked what “this guy had been doing” and an officer replied that he was causing trouble at the Fond du Luth Casino.  Unable to secure the handcuffs, the officers pulled him back from the wall, “then they flung him to the sidewalk, putting all their weight on him, their knees to his back,” finally succeeding at cuffing him.  When they pulled him back up, one side of his face was a mass of blood, leaving a pool of blood on the sidewalk.

As he stood up and was being walked to the squad car double-parked nearby, he began complaining about losing his hat.  This seemed to agitate him. An officer said they could get his hat. As they tried to put Croud into the squad car, he stopped cooperating, basically he just tried to stand still and would not bend over to get in the back seat. The officers repeatedly and loudly ordered him to stop resisting.

At this time a woman walked up to the rear bumper of the squad.  As the officers seemed to know her and did not ask her to step back, Mancini believes she was also a police officer. Mancini noted that the woman remained there and was, in his opinion, in an ideal position to observe the remainder of the incident.

The two officers succeeded in getting Croud into of the squad car and closed the door.

Croud now seemed to be safely restrained.  One of the officers then ran forward to another squad car parked three or four car lengths closer to Second Avenue East.   The officer reached into the back seat of the car, picked up an item, and carried it back.   Mancini could not see what the item was, but heard someone say, “Oh, they’re going to taser him.”  The officer reached into the back of the car toward Croud, inserting his upper body and both arms into the car for approximately ten seconds.  Mancini observed a blue flash.  Mancini is not positive that the blue flash was from a taser. Daniel Keinbaum, an employee of Downtown Computer, said he heard an electronic sound twice, once faintly then louder. The officers then drove Croud away. Only two officers were involved in the detention of Croud.

The longer he thought about it, the more concerned Mancini became over the nature of this incident.  Mancini has witnessed dozens of arrests in downtown Duluth over the years and he’s never seen one with this level of police aggression.  At the time, Mancini did not know whether Croud was seriously injured. Mancini was just bothered by how violent the event was.

At approximately 8 p.m., Mancini called 911 to report an aggressive incident with a police arrest.   The 911 operator referred him to another officer who promptly arranged for the police to go to Downtown Computer, tape it off, and take a variety of pictures of the scene.

A Duluth police officer and Jerome Koneczny of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension interviewed Mancini that evening.  Both officers were very polite, professional, and thorough.  Mancini described the incident in detail and at length.

The Aftermath and A Few Questions

If Croud was indeed shocked with a Taser after he was already in custody, what was the justification?

An officer interviewing Mancini stated that there was another incident involving police in front of Fond-du-Luth Casino at the same time. According to the Duluth News Tribune, the Fond du Luth Casino chief of security denied that any incident occurred there. It raises the question of what, if anything, happened at the Casino. If there was a separate incident, is it possible that the two officers who apprehended Croud had the wrong man?

MBCA has interviewed eight officers in connection with this case. Only two officers were involved with Croud’s detention; plus potentially the woman Mancini witnessed at the rear of the squad car.  Where were the other five officers and what were they doing? If they were at the Casino, how is that incident related to Croud’s?  Kienbaum stated that he noticed other officers standing in front of the nearby Norshor Theatre at this time.  He didn’t recall how many.

Contrary to the Duluth News Tribune editorial lamenting the lack of a camera in this incident, Fond du Luth Casino has a high quality security camera at the front corner of their building aimed down the sidewalk toward the Croud incident, which occurred of approximately 160-200 feet away.  As it was still light outside, careful analyses of the data should help confirm the truth.  The Reader has learned that MBCA’s Koneczny has viewed tape.

Many of Duluth’s American Indians are incensed by Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson’s unequivocal support for the officers involved; feeling Bergson’s statement suggests that the outcome of the investigation has been pre-judged by city officials. Bergson previously was a long term police detective, and served as Mayor of Superior.  Croud was a member of the White Earth Chippewa tribe.

Duluth Police Chief Roger Waller did not return the Reader’s calls by deadline. Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (MBCA) agent Jerome Koneczny declined comment, referring the Reader to David  Bjerga; a MBCA agent from Bemidji, who did return our call by deadline,

Croud had a history of over 40 contacts with the police, mostly alcohol related. He leaves behind four children.

Experts spar over drug used on Croud

DEATH: The drug administered after a confrontation with police is considered safe, local medical experts say.

BY MARK STODGHILL

NEWS TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

The antipsychotic drug used to treat David Croud is commonly used on agitated patients at St. Mary's Medical Center and at the Duluth Detoxification Center, officials said Wednesday.

That's why Gary Olson, executive director of the Center for Alcohol and Drug Treatment, said he was shocked to learn that the St. Louis County medical examiner determined that the administration of Haldol played a role in Croud's death.

"Haldol is normally considered the safest drug to use when somebody is intoxicated," Olson said. "It's effects are not added to alcohol. We've used Haldol for years. It's always been the most effective chemical restraint for people intoxicated. We've never seen an incident like that. Nobody has ever died from getting Haldol in our facility. It shocked me."

Dr. Gary Foley, emergency medicine section chairman at St. Mary's Medical Center, said Haldol is commonly administered at St Mary's and other hospitals around the country to patients who are agitated because of alcohol and other drug use.

"Certainly this case was an unexpected outcome for the administration of Haldol," he said. "Unfortunately, unexpected death is one of the known problems with that drug and many others."

Croud, 29, died Oct. 18, six days after being taken into custody after a confrontation with police on Superior Street in downtown Duluth.

He was medicated at St. Mary's and never regained consciousness after going into a coma and being placed on life support.

The medical examiner's report said that acute alcohol intoxication also contributed to Croud's death.

The Web site www.prescriptiondrug-info.com states that it's inadvisable to administer Haldol, the brand name of haloperidol, to someone who is severely intoxicated.

However, Foley and Jim Tomsche, doctor of pharmacy at St. Mary's, dispute that direction.

"The drug itself is typically thought of as a preferred agent in somebody who is combative, has delirium or hallucinations," Tomsche said. "The reason being it has a calming effect with it, but tends to cause minimum sedation and tends to have little affect on the patient's ability to breathe."

Foley said that sometimes a drug is administered for a person's own safety before it's known how intoxicated that person might be.

"In an emergency department we sometimes have to operate on less than complete information," he said.

Croud's blood-alcohol content hasn't been released by the medical examiner.

St. Mary's Medical Center officials referred to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPAA) and said they couldn't comment on any treatment Croud received at their hospital.

"HIPPAA requires us to honor the patients' confidentiality with all of our patients," said Susan McClernon, chief operating officer of St. Mary's Medical Center.

McClernon said no changes of emergency room policies or procedures were necessitated by Croud's death and no one was suspended or placed on leave.

"We have extensive procedures and policies when any kind of serious event -- and certainly one as tragic as this -- occurs," McClernon said. "We immediately began that evening those processes that are prescriptive and very intense processes that have us look at the actual course of events, as well as looking at anything we can do to improve things as well."

McClernon expects that process to be completed after the hospital receives the medical examiner's final autopsy report in about two weeks, she said.

Jim Croud declined to comment Wednesday when reached by phone and asked about the medical report of his brother's death.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota is representing David Croud's family and estate. The ACLU is investigating the case and may file a civil rights lawsuit in federal court.

At the request of St. Louis County Attorney Alan Mitchell, the Washington County attorney's office is investigating Croud's death for any possible criminal charges against police officers.

Susan Harris, first assistant Washington County attorney, said Wednesday that she is still waiting for some reports on Croud's death to be forwarded to her office. She declined to speculate on when a charging decision would be made.