Extending the Expiratory Date on Prone-Restraint Cardiac Arrest
Category: Press Article
Publication: Blue Line Magazine, January/February 2025.
Author: Geoffrey T. Desmoulin
Summary: In our previous BLUE LINE article entitled Prone Restraint and Positional Asphyxia in Custody Deaths, GTD Scientific reviewed studies in which cardiorespiratory variables were measured during simulated prone restraint, which provided evidence that recovery from exercise while relaxed and restrained does not differ appreciably from recovery from exercise while seated. However, these studies are limited to at least three fundamental aspects. First, a prone-restrained detainee is often not relaxed or recovering from exertion. Rather, the detainee is often actively struggling while prone-restrained. Second, the prone-restrained detainee is not being passively restrained. Rather, the detainee often has several law enforcement personnel actively suppressing any movement which the detainee attempts to make. Third, the detainee generally does not belong to the same demographic group as the subjects of these studies, who are generally young, healthy and not overweight. Additional factors, such as emotional distress and substance use were not addressed in these studies.
