Police and paramedics attend to Jesus Lopez Barcenas, shown in the gurney, following his arrest in Boulder, Colorado. A paramedic is now facing a manslaughter charge (Boulder County Prosecutor’s Office).
A Colorado paramedic is facing a manslaughter charge after he sedated and restrained a handcuffed man who later went into cardiac arrest and died.
Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty revealed the charges against Edward McClure on Friday, citing that the paramedic’s “reckless acts” resulted in the “untimely and tragic death” of 36-year-old Jesus Lopez Barcenas. The charges arose from Dougherty’s investigation into the use of force following Barcenas’ arrest on December 27. Barcenas died two days later.
The sequence of events began around 8:15 a.m. on that late December morning when Boulder police responded to a report of a suspicious individual on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus, prosecutors detailed in an account of the incident. Upon arrival, officers reported that Barcenas ignored their inquiries and refused to sit down, claiming a nearby building was on fire. When officers attempted to handcuff Barcenas, he allegedly resisted and tried to seize one of their firearms. A struggle occurred, but the officers ultimately managed to secure him in handcuffs.
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Much of the ordeal was captured on officers’ body camera footage.
McClure and other paramedics from American Medical Response (AMR) arrived on the scene to treat any patients who needed assistance. Cops told McClure that he needed to check out Barcenas before they could take him to jail. Before evaluating Barcenas, McClure allegedly injected him with 5 milligrams of Droperidol, a sedative, in the buttocks while saying “I love holes in the pants.” They then put the suspect face down on a gurney in a prone position.
“Now let’s strap the crap out of him,” McClure said, according to the report.
Cops and paramedics then placed Barcenas in the back of the ambulance and started to put the seatbelt on him. He was still face down and handcuffed, per prosecutors.
“Just keep him face down,” McClure allegedly said. “I don’t care. Oh, just go over his arms. I don’t want to move him.”
McClure also placed a “spit sock” mask over Barcenas’ head, prosecutors said. The mask helps prevent arrested suspects from spewing bodily fluids at first responders, but Barcenas was not spitting at anyone, prosecutors noted.
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Barcenas’ condition took a turn for the worse on the ride to the hospital, the report said. McClure was administering CPR as they arrived and rolled him to the emergency department. He died two days later.
An autopsy determined Barcenas died of “sudden cardiac arrest following a prolonged physical altercation and struggle, which included prone positioning and the use of restraints and a sedative (butyrophenone) medication.” The toxic effects of methamphetamine also contributed to his death, prosecutors said. Barcenas had a bag of meth on him when he was arrested, according to cops. The manner of death was listed as homicide.
According to prosecutors, AMR fired McClure three days after the incident for violating “several of their polices and protocols in his treatment of Mr. Barcenas.” It is against AMR policy to place handcuffed subjects face down on a gurney, prosecutors wrote.
Dougherty cleared police officers of any wrongdoing.
“However, the reckless acts of the paramedic led to the untimely and tragic death of Mr. Barcenas. Our prosecution team will fight hard to secure the right outcome in this criminal prosecution, particularly for the loving family of Mr. Barcenas and for this community,” Dougherty wrote.
