Positional death from suffocation
The location-related asphyxia is a leading to death form of asphyxia , which occurs when a person is in a posture is that it interferes with breathing. This phenomenon is also called Positional Asphyxia Syndrome , or PAS for short.
This type of suffocation plays a role in different situations:
- People die of positional asphyxiation because they put themselves in a position that hinders breathing from which they can no longer escape. This could be due to carelessness or an accident .
- Violently induced asphyxia , e.g. B. Burking through torture and killing techniques plays a role.
- Young children under two years of age have an increased risk of death from positional suffocation.
- A number of people die while being handcuffed by the police, prison staff, or nurses ( death in custody ). Positional choking could be one of the factors in some of these cases. A person who is handcuffed face down may have more breathing difficulties than when they are cuffed face up. Almost all people who died while being handcuffed have resisted the handcuff considerably over a long period of time.
In positional suffocation, physical positioning, oxygen deficit due to various factors, strain on the chest and other factors play a role. Other factors that increase the risk of death include obesity, heart or respiratory disease, and substance abuse.
Recognition problem
Situational suffocation is playing an increasingly important role in police self-defense training. Police officers are now informed about the problem and trained accordingly. However, according to a statement by Prof. Penning, University of Munich, it is very difficult not only for intervening police officers, but even for doctors and medical staff to recognize whether a resistance by the person concerned is " resistance to law enforcement officers " or one Struggle for survival is about.
The person affected falls into a so-called vicious circle if a situation-related asphyxiation occurs during police intervention , in which one factor in turn triggers another, which further worsens the situation. This vicious circle consists of:
- increased adrenaline rush from previous flight or violence
- increased oxygen demand in the brain and muscles
- Shortness of breath due to the breath- inhibiting positioning
- Fear of death, which in turn leads to an increase in adrenaline levels.
The victim is no longer fighting for his freedom or against the police , but is simply fighting for his life. This circumstance, in which the person concerned now uses all his strength, is very easily misinterpreted by the police as a defense against the arrest, which usually results in an intensification of the immediate coercion . This makes it even harder for the person to breathe until they finally pass out.
As a rule, the intervening officers only realize at this point - and often too late - that the person concerned is suffering from the PAS.
literature
- J. Parkes: A Review Of The Literature On Positional Asphyxia As A Possible Cause Of Sudden Death During Restraint. In: British Journal Of Forensic Practice. 4 (1), 2002, pp. 24-30.
- SJ Stratton, C. Rogers, K. Brickett: Factors associated with sudden death of individuals requiring restraint for excited delirium. In: American Journal of Emergency Medicine. 19 (3), 2001, pp. 187-191.
- TC Chan, GM Vilke, T. Neuman, JL Clausen: Restraint Position and Positional Asphyxia. In: Annals of Emergency Medicine . 1997, 30 (5) pp. 578-586.