Denver, CO – According to an autopsy report made public on Wednesday by the family’s attorneys, the death of a man who was handcuffed after a mental health team was called and saw him crossing the street last year has been determined to be a homicide.
The death of a man who was handcuffed after a mental health team responded to a call of him walking out into traffic last year has been ruled a homicide, according to an autopsy report released Wednesday by lawyers for his family. (Photo via https://www.foxnews.com/us/death-handcuffed-colorado-man-ruled-homicide)
A report states that Kevin Dizmang, 63, passed away on November 22 as a result of a cardiac arrest that happened while he was being restrained, when he was profoundly methamphetamine inebriated, and while he was also dealing with health issues like obesity and asthma.
This is the most recent occurrence in the United States that has many wonderings how police deal with encounters with persons going through mental health crises.
In this undated photo provided by Kenda James, Kevin Dizmang holds his granddaughter as an infant. The death of Dizmang, who was handcuffed after a mental health team responded to a call of him walking out into traffic last year has been ruled a homicide, according to an autopsy report released Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, by lawyers for his family. This is the latest incident in the U.S. that raises questions about how police handle encounters with people experiencing mental health crises. (Kenda James via AP)
Additionally, attorneys for Dizmang’s family made body camera footage public. In it, an officer can be repeatedly heard telling Dizmang to put his hands behind his back while they are in the street. Dizmang also rebuffs the officer’s attempts to arrest him. He is then assisted to the ground by a second guy wearing a red jacket, who family attorney Harry Daniels identifies as the team’s paramedic.
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It’s difficult to see what is going on, but Dizmang quickly stops moving as the person in red holds his arm across the top of his body as he lies face down. Others in the area call on Dizmang to speak to them after he turned face up, but he doesn’t respond.
Daniels remarked that at that point, nobody made any attempt to resurrect Dizmang. He also criticized the police for approaching the incident as a crime scene rather than a mental health emergency from the outset.
The 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office received the case for consideration after an investigation, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department. Howard Black, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, stated that the district attorney determined the officer and paramedic’s conduct was appropriate and that no charges will be brought against them.
According to a de-escalation tactics specialist, by sealing the roadway and giving the team more time to speak with Dizmang in a more relaxed manner without making demands or having to stand as close to him, they may have been able to persuade him to voluntarily go to the hospital for assistance.
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Given enough time, space, and understanding, even those experiencing a mental health crisis or under the influence of drugs can agree to cooperate—as long as they don’t pose a threat, according to Tamara Lynn, chair and associate professor in the criminal justice department at Fort Hays State University and president of the executive council of the National De-Escalation Training Center.
As part of a time-consuming investigation into the use of force, Lynn reported that police ultimately decided to close the roadway and place police tape over a substantial portion of a neighborhood. She claimed that if the road had been closed and the police had approached Dizmang with more care and patience, it might have taken an hour to get him to the hospital.
The police department said it sent out a Community Response Team, which was made up of a police officer, a paramedic from the city’s fire department, and a mental health professional, in response to a call about a man who was having a “mental health episode” at a home and was later discovered in the street.
A struggle broke out as the officer attempted to remove the man out of the roadway, and the paramedic assisted the officer, it claimed. It claimed that after being handcuffed, the man lost consciousness. The paramedic and officer were both given paid administrative leave, it said.
