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65 FBI L. Enforcement Bull. 22 (1996)
Suspect Restraint and Sudden Death

handle is hein.journals/fbileb65 and id is 134 raw text is: Suspect Restraint and Sudden Death By DONALD T. REAY, M.D. ne law enforcement tech- nique for controlling vio- lent suspects is to place them in a hog-tied and prone posi- tion by binding their hands and feet together behind their back and plac- ing them on their stomach. This physically incapacitating position, however, makes it difficult for sub- jects to breathe and can cause them to die.I Because of the risks associated with hog-tied and prone restraint, officers must monitor subjects closely for signs of respiratory dis- tress. This article describes how hog-tied restraint can cause death, what other factors might contribute to such a death, some steps that can be taken to prevent sudden deaths, and what evidence law enforce- ment officers can provide to assist medical examiners during death investigations. Positional Asphyxia When a hog-tied subject dies, forensic pathologists generally at- tribute the death in whole or in part to positional asphyxia result- ing from respiratory compromise. Positional asphyxia occurs when the position of the body interferes with the person's ability to breathe. Breathing involves interaction of the chest wall, the diaphragm, and the muscles of the rib cage and abdo- men. Interference with proper breathing produces an oxygen defi- ciency (known as hypoxia) in the blood,' which disturbs the body's chemistry and creates the conditions for a fatal rhythm disturbance in the heart. Contributing Factors An examination of reported positional asphyxia-related deaths revealed that several other readily observable factors can increase a subject's susceptibility to sudden 22 / FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Ru

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