DENVER — A critical incident investigation has been initiated into how a 36-year-old man died after being arrested, handcuffed and placed on his side by Denver officers in the early morning hours Nov. 15, according to the Denver Police Department.
Police said they responded to a 911 call made around 11:55 p.m. Nov. 14 by a man who was located in the area of 1331 Speer Blvd.
During the call, police said he sounded "highly agitated, was yelling at the call-taker, and after several minutes stated that he was having a heart attack and that people were robbing him," according to a news release.
On Nov. 22, the coroner's office identified the man as James Hutchinson, 36. They said the cause and manner of his death are under investigation.
In a summarized list, police described a timeline of events that led up to the man's arrest and death.
After the man said he was having a medical event, Denver Fire and Denver Health paramedics were called to the scene and tried to give the man medical attention, police said. When the man became "combative," police said he "exited the ambulance and walked away," according to the release.
When the man walked away, police said it was reported the man threw a block of concrete into a glass entry door in the 1300 block of Speer Boulevard, located near the original call location. Police said they responded to the area again to locate the man.
As an officer arrived just after midnight, a news release said they saw the man in the area who was "yelling." After giving the man verbal commands to keep his hands up in the air, the officer said the man ran away westbound. According to the police timeline, the officer did not pursue the man at the time and called for additional officers to respond to the area.
Three minutes after the man ran from the officer, police said an apartment building security guard called 911 to report the man damaged another window. Police said two security guards at the building located in the 900 block of West 14th Avenue tried to keep the man from coming inside the building and while he was in the first set of doors to the apartments, they wrestled the man to the ground.
The guards told police that during the struggle with the man, he "punched and bit one of the security guards, and one of the guards was forced to strike the man to stop the biting."
DPD said the security guards struggled with the man for "several minutes."
When officers responded to the apartments it was approximately 12:20 a.m. They said they found the guards holding the man on the ground.
Police said they struggled with the man briefly and they were able to put the man in handcuffs and "rolled him onto his side in a recovery position while they did a preliminary search of the man for any weapons."
DPD said they handcuffed the man within 22 seconds of first contacting him, then rolled him onto his side 10 seconds later. DPD training now requires that quick change to the recovery position.
Then, one minute and 25 seconds later, DPD said officers officers on scene realized the man wasn't answering any questions, and was having difficulty breathing. Police said they called 911, began doing CPR and administered multiple doses of Naloxone in case the man was having an opioid-related overdose, but said the Naloxone did not have an effect on the man.
Police explained that three Denver officers were involved in the arrest and gave the man medical care. They said the officers did not use any less-than-lethal tactics like TASERs, nor did they physically hit the man during his arrest.
According to the release from police, the man was taken to Denver Health and was pronounced dead at 6 a.m. Nov. 16.
After the incident, police said a critical incident investigation was started.
9NEWS asked very specific questions of DPD about the timing of each part of this interaction, because our reporting over the years has shown that the length of time someone is restrained facedown can make a big difference.
Police said on Nov. 16 that they were unable to provide body-camera video from the incident because they were still trying to locate and notify the man's next of kin. They said the man's family must be provided an opportunity to watch the video "at least 72 hours prior to public disclosure," but said they will release the video once they meet the requirements to do so.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation and Colorado State Patrol investigators will investigate the death, along with oversight by the Office of the Independent Monitor. Denver's District Attorney's Office is also involved in the investigation.
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