Epileptic's Death in Police Custody Ruled Homicide

BLOOMFIELD, N.J. (AP) -- The death of an epileptic in police custody has been ruled a homicide.

Authorities said Santiago Villanueva, 35, a native of the Dominican Republic who lived in New York, was undergoing a seizure April 16 when he was arrested at the garment factory where he worked.

According to Bloomfield police reports, officers and emergency medical technicians responding to a 911 call deemed Villanueva combative and, at times, unresponsive to simple verbal commands.

They acknowledge using some force to bring Villanueva under control. He died a short time later at Columbus Hospital in Newark, and the cause of death was initially listed as "mechanical asphyxia."

An autopsy by the Regional Medical Examiner's Office later classified the death as a homicide.

That does not necessarily mean Villanueva was the victim of a crime. Essex County Prosecutor Donald Campolo said a grand jury must decide that, and evidence in the case has not yet been turned over for review.

Villanueva's employer claimed authorities roughed him up, even though they were called only because he was experiencing an epileptic attack. Villanueva stopped breathing at one point during the confrontation, but started again before going to the hospital.

Friends and activists claim Villanueva was unjustly manhandled and probably choked to death by overzealous police.

At first I thought the issue was the police weren't trained to recognize all forms of epilepsy. Epilepsy can look pretty bizarre at times.

But the next-to-last paragraph indicates they were specifically called for an epileptic seizure.

Does the fact that he was a "native of the Dominican Republic" mean that he was a native of the EU? Does that mean that he was an illegal alien, here, in the US without our permission? Does his "boss" realize that there is a $10,000 fine per day (that's the law Congress passed late '70s to ensure that folks in the US illegally WON'T find gainful employment, although, lat Lexis/Nexis search I did indicated that the law had NEVER been enforced) for hiring an illegal alien? How come this "boss" dumps the health problems of an illegal alien he is exploiting on the city police? Did the police have a legal obligation to contact a counselor representative from the DR BEFORE they talked to this guy? Can the cops be sued for violating this guy's political rights as a citizen of the DR?

they were specifically called for an epileptic seizure.

As usual with media reports there are some things missing here. If the 911 call was made specifically for an epileptic seizure, why did they not send paramedics who would have a clue how to deal with the situation?

This report says the subject died of "mechanical asphixia"--well yeah, he probably swallowed his tongue which is common in epileptic seizures. There are procedures to prevent that complicaton.

I'll cut the cops some slack on this one, but I would really like to know why there were no paramedics on the scene.

This report says the subject died of "mechanical asphixia"--well yeah, he probably swallowed his tongue which is common in epileptic seizures. There are procedures to prevent that complicaton.

That's actually extremely rare. It was more likely due to being restrained. A concious, aware person can adjust to restraints to enable themselves to breathe, but not so with someone in a seizure or unconcious.

I'll cut the cops some slack on this one, but I would really like to know why there were no paramedics on the scene.

This is from the Epilepsy Foundation website: Arrest For Seizure-Related Behavior

There have been many instances in which persons having seizures have been arrested and charged with such crimes as drunk and disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, unlawful entry, even assault on a police officer. The Epilepsy Foundation (EF) brought this serious problem to the attention of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee during hearings on the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). In its final report, the Committee stated:

In order to comply with the non-discrimination mandate, it is often necessary to provide training to public employees about disability. For example, persons who have epilepsy, and a variety of other disabilities, are frequently inappropriately arrested and jailed because police officers have not received proper training in the recognition of and aid for seizures. Often, after being arrested, they are deprived of medications while in jail, resulting in further seizures. Such discriminatory treatment based on disability can be avoided by proper training.

Yeah man!! If he ain't white, president of the Rotary, driving a brand new car and wearing a suit, the COPS get to do what they want to the guy!! Makes no difference that most cops don't fit in that mold either...

LE usually show up at 911 calls to see if there is a need for crowd or traffic control or if a crime has been committed...

Hey FRiend, I hope you didn't misinterpret my original post. I have worked in the medical profession for a long time and I understand the nature of epileptic seizures. I think that what happened to this man is a disgrace, was totally mishandled, and he would be alive today if not for a number of ----ups?

Still have a couple of questions: 1) how many medical problems are cops trained to handle; 2)why were there no paramedics called to this emergency?

IF this story is being reported accurately, there is a $hit load of blame for the entire emergency response system.

I took no offense. I think the take-away learnings from this tragedy are that the police have to be trained on dealing with epilepsy. And that is the point of the excerpt from the Epilepsy Foundation ... the Congress stated that the ADA mandates police forces to be trained in dealing with epilepsy. I doubt seriously the police intended to harm this man, but they responded incorrectly and he is now dead. I also doubt it is the fault of these officers, but rather a failure of their departments to properly train them.

I also understand how easily one can misinterpret the actions of some people when they are in a seizure state. However, with the proper training and with the foreknowledge that this person was experiencing a seizure this should not happen.

You are correct that EMTs would have been preferable. But for whatever reasons the police were the ones responding.

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