Left: James Foster Jr. (Meyer Brothers Funeral Homes); Right: Deanna Le Mere (North Sioux City Fire Department/Instagram).
An Iowa father of two passed away after being “held down and injected” with an incorrect drug by a paramedic who “was aware that he needed urgent care to survive” but did not alert anyone and “failed to take any action,” according to a lawsuit filed by the man’s relatives.
“You’re not gonna die, you’re fine,” said EMT Deanna LaMere to James Foster Jr., 26, from Sioux City, after he started struggling to breathe and told her, “I can’t breathe,” following the alleged medication mistake, as per his family’s complaint.
As earlier reported by Law&Crime, LaMere allegedly administered Foster a “fatal dose” of rocuronium instead of ketamine after attending a call about a man lying on the street. Rocuronium is described as a “hazardous paralytic agent” that causes muscle paralysis, as per the complaint and the Journal of Emergency Medical Services. LaMere faces an involuntary manslaughter charge regarding Foster’s death and has entered a plea of not guilty.
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Foster’s family paints a chilling timeline of what allegedly occurred that day — Aug. 18, 2023 — in their lawsuit, noting how LaMere even went so far as to tell Foster “night night” after he passed out from the rocuronium, per the complaint. They are suing the City of Sioux City, LaMere and local officials.
LaMere and Sioux City police arrived just before 4 a.m. on Aug. 18, 2023, according to the complaint. Foster’s family says he told them he suffered an arm injury. LaMere and other first responders allegedly reported that Foster’s behavior warranted chemical restraint, so they tried administering the ketamine.
“All right … it should be kicking in like now,” LaMere allegedly told Foster. After a few moments, Foster “immediately” began to struggle to breathe, “audibly gasping for air” and asking “Am I gonna die?,” according to his family.
“Mr. Foster began crying … and repeatedly stating the unfortunately all too familiar refrain that he couldn’t breathe,” his family’s complaint alleges. “Defendant LaMere realized that she had given the incorrect and life-threatening medication rocuronium, but she did not notify anyone nor did she take any action to protect his airway and/or intubate him before he became paralyzed and unable to breathe.”
Foster’s family says his breathing “deteriorated almost immediately” and he began to “desperately gasp and wheeze for air, as clearly audible and visible on body cam footage,” according to the complaint. LaMere and officers on scene allegedly ignored what was going on and instead subdued Foster, who was now chemically incapacitated, with handcuffs before strapping him to a gurney.
“Shortly after he was taken from the scene by ambulance, Mr. Foster lost the ability to breathe, due to chemical paralysis, and he went into cardiac arrest with an unprotected airway,” his family alleges. “This arrest would deprive his brain of oxygen and he died days later, after confirmation of brain death, from an anoxic brain injury due to the administration of rocuronium and the defendants’ refusal to address his respiratory distress on-scene.”
Foster’s obituary describes him as an Iowa father who was “so full of life, loved everybody, and was always polite.” It adds that he “loved his girls, Peyton and Lakoda and their mother, Kenzee.”
