Minnesota Lawsuit Takes on Involuntary Sedations

July 16, 2018

An attorney for a Minneapolis, Minn. man is drawing parallels between his client’s lawsuit and the recent debate over police urging paramedics to sedate unruly people.

Forty-eight-year-old John Powell says he suffered breathing problems and needed emergency care after suburban police allegedly asked paramedics to inject him with the powerful sedative ketamine three years ago.

Powell filed a federal lawsuit in December against North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale and the Robbinsdale and Brooklyn Center police departments. The three parties have denied any misconduct.

Powell tells the Star Tribune he spent a day in the hospital unconscious.

The Star Tribune reported last month on a draft report questioning whether Minneapolis officers inappropriately urged paramedics to sedate people with ketamine. City officials have appointed former Deputy U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates to investigate whether police acted inappropriately.

Topics Lawsuits Minnesota

Was this article valuable?

Here are more articles you may enjoy.