Abstract P639: Cerebrovascular and Pathological Findings in Police Chokehold Fatalities

Abstract

Introduction: A number of recent well publicized deaths from police chokeholds have focused attention on the use and safety of chokeholds by law enforcement officers (LEO). LEO chokeholds are depicted as a safe non-lethal restraint technique. Use of chokeholds by LEO is purported to be in the middle range of force options when compared to other tools of force available. LEO chokeholds are often likened to judo chokeholds which have a long history of safety and have not directly contributed to the death of a judoka since the sport of Judo was founded in Japan in 1882. Some have posited that chokeholds employed by LEO are especially likely to be safe in young adults, as they are less likely to have underlying cardiovascular diseases. Chokeholds applied by LEO can unfortunately be associated with severe medical and neurological sequelae, including death. Methods: We reviewed autopsy data of 29 deaths associated with LEO chokeholds. Results: Subjects ranged in age from 19 to 58. Reported chokehold duration ranged from 4 seconds to 3 minutes in length. In ten cases, chokeholds were applied multiple times to a single subject. In one case chokeholds were applied five times to a single subject. At autopsy, two subjects were found to have carotid artery intimal tears. Two subjects had epidural hemorrhages. One subject sustained a subdural hemorrhage. One subject was found to have had a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Five subjects had pathology typical of global cerebral anoxia. One subject sustained multiple cervical spine fractures with crush injury to the spinal cord as well as spinal epidural hemorrhage. Two subjects had evidence of hemorrhage involving the cervical anterior longitudinal ligament. Atherosclerotic heart disease was found in five subjects. Two subjects had severe occlusive coronary artery disease. Four of these subjects were between the ages of 28 and 35. Myocardial fibrosis was found in five subjects. Cardiomegaly was found at autopsy in six subjects. Conclusions: LEO chokeholds are not widely considered to constitute deadly force, however our review of autopsy data from 29 deaths caused by chokeholds applied by LEO revealed that they can be associated with death and severe cerebrovascular, and central nervous system sequela in both young and older subjects.