Police use of force continues to be a problem, and communities across the nation are demanding reform that includes providing police with less violent tools and tactics. One option that is becoming popular is for law enforcement to collaborate with paramedics to use chemical restraints – drugs typically used in hospital settings to calm agitated patients – to subdue people detained by the police. While injecting people with sedatives might seem harmless, there are increasing reports that using chemical restraints in this manner is leading to significant injury and death.
What are the constitutional limits on medical professionals who ostensibly use “force” as part of a police seizure, albeit with drugs rather than guns or chokeholds? Does the use of sedatives by paramedics in pre-hospital settings that leads to physical harm or death constitute excessive force that violates the Fourth Amendment? This talk will explore these questions and offer legal and policy frameworks for police/paramedic partnerships that centers the health and safety of community members rather than the needs or convenience of law enforcement.
