Posted on 10/14/2004 8:09:08 PM PDT by BearCub
Inquest testimony in death of man while in Mequon police custody
Associated Press
PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. - A police officer told an inquest jury Monday how he mistakenly placed a hazardous-materials hood on a prisoner, not realizing that it could suffocate him.
The testimony came at an inquest in Ozaukee County Circuit Court into the death June 19 of 20-year-old Matthew Sheridan of Mequon.
Sheridan was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia after Bayside police stopped a vehicle in which he was riding and found a pipe used to smoke drugs near where he was seated, authorities said.
According to testimony, he was placed in the squad car with his hands handcuffed at his back, but he managed to get his hands in front of him and also was kicking and spitting.
Mequon police Officer Gregory Klobukowski said he put Sheridan in the hood but thought it was a transport hood - a device that is used to deter the prisoner from spitting and biting. Instead, it was a specialized hood designed to protect the wearer from biohazards.
According to testimony, Sheridan kept shouting at officers as the hood went on, including shouts that he couldn't breathe, but officers said they reasoned that if he could still shout, he must be breathing.
By the time Sheridan arrived at the police station, he was unresponsive. Authorities later said he had suffocated.
A somber Klobukowski testified that after the incident, he tested the hood by putting it on his own head.
"I opened it up and I put it on myself and I started walking around in the garage," he said. "I was able to determine that after a while you could no longer breathe through" the device.
The inquest was to resume Tuesday.
The six-member jury's decision on whether charges are warranted is advisory to the district attorney.
The kid said he couldn't breathe, and lo and behold, he couldn't & died. These cops need to go to jail for a long long time IMO.
The cop was already cleared for criminal charges, so no jail.
There's a dashboard cam of the incident with the guy saying he couldn't breath...and the officer saying "how can you be talking if you can't breath???"
Let's pray for the family of this young man.
What an incredible tragedy.
I know, I heard it. They shouldn't have cleared the cops - they should have been charged with manslaughter at the very least. I'm sick and tired of cops getting off because they're cops.
Well, you know, I'd have thought the same thing. "If you're talking, you're breathing."
Ever had a brother hold his hand over your mouth? You can say "I can't breathe" - for a little while.
"The cop's cold indifference to the young man's please are typical it seems of LEO's. The cop's comeback about being able to talkmeansthatyou can breathe borders on idiocy. I can breathe car exhaust and talk for a period of time before passing out too. What a bunch of power-drunk A$$#0!&$</P>
You've got it. If I leave my dog in the car and she asphyxiates in the heat even though I thought she'd be fine with the window cracked - I go to jail. These cops walk only because they are cops. They fail to understand that once they have the cuffs on someone they are completely responsible for that person's safety.
this device was either malfuncioning or is a quite strange protection hood: one that prevents respiration.
this act sounds incredibly stupid, not malicious. what would you or i get for forcing one of these on someones head and killing them?? at least manslaughter, and that's what these guys should get.
From what I heard the hood was basically a plastic bag with a mouthpiece inside that you suck air through. They slapped it over his head but didn't put the mouthpiece in his mouth. Without that it wasn't much different than a garbage bag.
If nothing else, the cop should go to jail for being stupid.
that makes it even more idiotic. agree that when you cuff someone and deprive them of the ability to protect themselves, you are responsible for their care. with awesome powers come heavy responsibilities; they like the power, but don't accept untoward consequences. these guys need to be on a leash.....
Yup. I mean honestly - if he said he couldn't breathe what's the harm in taking the hood off? He was already restrained.
I don't know how much the cops need to be 'on a leash' but they should certainly be held accountable for their acts and omissions - at least as much as (and maybe more than) the average citizen. I hope to God this guy isn't still a cop. One mistake and you are either in jail or out - or both.
No. More than ever, I'm glad I was the oldest child. ;^)
Interestingly, the cops are guilty of murder 1. While they may not have set out to kill Matthew before arresting him, they formed the intent during the drive, possibly because he angered them. The reason it's obvious* they possessed the requisite intent and premeditation is that, as one can hear on their own audiotape of the event, Matthew cannot breathe and so passes into death throes, with their unmistakable, concomitant, horrifying screams, thrashing about etc. After that he went silent having lost consciousness. That notwithstanding, the police would have us believe this scenario was insufficient to arouse their curiosity and lift the hood at which time Matthew Sheridan would still be alive and without brain damage etc. Recall too that Matthew put them on notice regarding the breathing issue while he was still able to speak. The challenge now is for the D.A. to muster sufficient testicular fortitude to prosecute the cops involved and to find 12! jurors with the cerebral capabilities to think with the profundity sufficient to come to the logical conclusions necessary for a guilty verdict.
*Another possibility, (though unlikely) is that these particular peace officers had the I.Q.s of imbeciles and had no clue, despite what must have been a blood-curdling exhibition by Matthew, that he was in any serious danger.
Someone asked: "Why not take off the hood---he was laready restrained?" Allegedly, Matthew was (omigosh) spitting.
Someone said they would have thought the same as the cops (That if you're talking, you're breathing). Uh, yeah but plainly with a hood over your head, you're not going to lose respiratory function immediately and suddenly. When someone screams: "I can't breathe." Only a _____ would hold them to a literal meaning of their assertion. Of course, they mean they're losing their ability to breathe. If you're in water, believe you're unable to keep your head above the water and you shout: "Help! I'm drowning!" hopefully a would-be rescuer won't quibble with you about the accuracy of your statement.
Matthew's parents should sue for wrongful death. It won't ease their pain and certainly won't bring him back but maybe they can make it more difficult for those neo-Nazis to torture and murdering anyone else in such grisly fashion by sucking away a nice slice of their finances. Maybe they can bankrupt that "police" department and the plainly corrupt town that refuses to bring charges against it.
Matthew's parents should sue for wrongful death. It won't ease their pain and certainly won't bring him back but maybe they can make it more difficult for those neo-Nazis to torture and murdering anyone else in such grisly fashion by sucking away a nice slice of their finances. Maybe they can bankrupt that "Police" department and the plainly corrupt town that refuses to bring charges against it.
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