Police Officers and Firefighters Cleared of Charges After Drunk Detainee Dies from Towel Placed in Mouth to Prevent Self-Harm

Police officers and firefighters who were put on trial on charges of causing the death of a 40-something intoxicated individual while attempting to stop self-harm have been acquitted in a public participation trial.

The Changwon District Court's Criminal Division 4, presided over by Senior Judge Oh Dae-seok, announced yesterday (September 3) that it acquitted two police officers and two firefighters who had been indicted on charges of professional negligence resulting in death.

The two police officers were indicted for allegedly pushing a towel into the mouth of a severely intoxicated 41-year-old woman, identified as A, who had been arrested for obstruction of official duties on a street in Geoje, Gyeongsangnam-do, at 2:08 a.m. on August 26, 2022, when she attempted to bite her tongue to harm herself.

The two firefighters, who are 119 emergency medical technicians, were sent to trial on charges of failing to take appropriate measures—such as removing the towel from A's mouth—while relying on the police's control and assessment that "A might harm herself" after arriving in response to an emergency call from the police.

Investigations showed that the two police officers had been dispatched at 1:58 a.m. on the same day following a report that A was lying on the street, and asked her to go home.

However, A reportedly failed to comply properly and instead assaulted the two police officers, leading to her arrest in the act.

With handcuffs on both wrists, A resisted fiercely and demanded that the handcuffs be removed, but her request was refused.

According to findings, A stated, "Then I have to bite my tongue and die," and immediately attempted self-harm by biting her tongue.

In response, the two police officers repeatedly pushed a towel into A's mouth to prevent her from harming herself.

It was confirmed that the two firefighters who arrived at the scene removed the towel from her mouth and performed emergency rescue measures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from the moment A was presumed to have reached a state of cardiac arrest.

Subsequently, A passed away on September 17, 2022, at a hospital in Busan due to asphyxiation caused by airway obstruction.

All seven jurors participating in the trial unanimously delivered a verdict of not guilty for both the police officers and the firefighters.

Taking the jury's verdict into account, the court stated, "The police officers appear to have chosen to place a towel in the victim's mouth as a swift and effective means to deter her sudden self-harming behavior while subduing the victim, who was violently resisting at the time."

The court added, "The firefighters appear to have explored alternative objects that could be placed in the mouth instead of a towel while checking A's pulse, and it is difficult to conclude that they breached their duty of care," explaining that "medical experts generally agreed that it would have been difficult to immediately respond on-site and remove the towel."

The court concluded by stating the reason for the acquittal, "The evidence submitted by the prosecutor alone is insufficient to prove that the defendants anticipated the risk of death by asphyxiation and failed to take necessary measures to prevent it."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.