Intoxicated man transported by deputies found unconscious
Deputies and medical personnel revived a 23-year-old New York man after finding him unconscious; he remains in critical condition at a Denver hospital
Boulder, Colo. - On Sunday morning, September 9, at 2:30 a.m., two deputies were called to assist the Boulder Police Department at 9th Street and Canyon Boulevard in taking an intoxicated man into protective custody for transport to a detoxification center at Boulder's Addiction Recovery Center (ARC). The 23-year-old New York man displayed extreme signs of intoxication and was verbally belligerent with Boulder officer's and sheriff's deputies.
The man was transported in a marked Sheriff's jail transport van to the ARC, which is located in the same complex as the Boulder County Jail. When the two deputies went to remove the man from the van, they found him unconscious and unresponsive. Upon assessing the intoxicated man's medical condition, the transport deputies were unable to locate a pulse and found he was not breathing. The man was immediately removed from the van, emergency medical services were summoned, and the two transport deputies began life-saving resuscitative efforts, including administering CPR.
The two deputies were joined in the rescue efforts by several Boulder PD officers who were at the ARC on unrelated cases, as well as medical and rescue personnel from the Boulder Fire Department and AMR Ambulance. Medical personnel were able to regain a pulse on the man while still on-scene, and the man was subsequently transported in critical condition to Boulder Community's Foothills Hospital. The man has since been transported to a Denver-area hospital for additional treatment. As of last evening, the man remains unconscious and in critical condition.
An investigation was launched to determine what may have caused the man to lose consciousness and enter respiratory and cardiac arrest while in-custody during the transport. Both of the involved deputies have indicated that no force was used during the transport, and it is not yet known why the man became gravely sick or injured.
Sheriff Pelle requested the Boulder County Investigation Team (BCIT), a team of multi-jurisdictional investigators, conduct the investigation. It remains too early in the investigation to speculate or reach any conclusions about what led the man to lose consciousness and go into respiratory and cardiac arrest. The BCIT investigation is active and on-going and is being led by the Longmont Police Department.
As a result of the on-going investigation, the two transport deputies are not being publicly identified by name; however, both are tenured, experienced deputies. One deputy is a 10-year veteran, and the other is a 17-year veteran. The victim is not being publicly identified due to his on-going medical condition and the privacy laws that surround it.
The case number associated with this investigation is 18-5352.
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/s/ Cmdr. Mike Wagner
Public Information Officer
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