Saint Paul, Minn- The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a lawsuit today against St. Mary's Medical Center and the City of Duluth in Federal District Court over the wrongful death of David Croud.
On October 12, 2005, a Duluth police officer saw David Croud in downtown Duluth demonstrating "odd behavior." She called for backup. According to witnesses, when backup arrived, the officers slammed David Croud against a brick wall then threw him to the ground, pushing his face into the cement. The witnesses said that they did not see Croud being aggressive in anyway. Then, the police pushed and hit Croud into the squad car and used a taser on him.
They put handcuffs and facial restraints on Croud and took him to St. Mary's Medical Center for his injuries. He continued to struggle, and hospital staff administered 10 mg haldol to calm him. When that failed to work, they administered a subsequent dose which, according to a review by the Minnesota Department of Health, resulted in him receiving three times the recommended maximum allowance of the sedative.
The hospital staff left Croud in restraints and on his stomach. When they returned, he was unconscious. He subsequently fell into a coma and died on October 18, 2005.
"David's life was tragically cut short on that October day," said ACLU-MN Executive Director Charles Samuelson. "He did not have to die, and now his family will suffer the consequences. They will never get him back; his children will never again get to see their dad."
Today, the ACLU of Minnesota filed the wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of James Croud, brother of David Croud, against St. Mary's Medical Center and the City of Duluth Police officers for depriving his brother of his life.
Attorneys in this case are Albert Goins of the Goins Law Firm and John Goetz of Schwebel, Goetz and Seiben.