August 31, 2006
True Crime: Diabetic Man In Coma After Arrest
Jerome Clement was having a diabetic seizure, family and friends told NBC5's Amy Jacobson, but East Chicago police said they thought the 39-year-old Clement was drunk and belligerent, so they arrested him. Clement, who has been diabetic since he was 11 years old, had a heart attack while he was being arrested, and was on life support.
Clement's family said they would take Clement off of life support this weekend...
Last Friday, Clement was in his car when someone called the police claiming a man was passed out and needed help. Jacobson reported that when police said they arrived, they allegedly smelled alcohol and claimed Clement was kicking them and resisting arrest.
...East Chicago Police Chief Angelo Machuca Jr. in a statement said "As police officers, we are confronted with many scenarios in which difficult decisions must be made within seconds. I will stand by the decisions made by the officers who responded to this call."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14610211/
~Looks like the cops were having particular difficulty with Mr. Clement's face.
HH at Unknown News reminds us:
"This would be tragic, if such a mistake had never happened before. But this kind of thing happens startlingly often, and the Police Chief's response is startlingly ordinary: He stands behind his officers. End of story."
Posted by Stubbornson at August 31, 2006 06:51 PM