Questions surrounding Croud's death meet with silence and doubletalk

Reader Weekly

Issue 344, November 10, 2005

Robert Boone
Jennifer Martin-Romme

Duluth citizens want answers about the October 18 death of David Croud, but thus far, their questions have been met with silence and contradiction by officials.

Croud died six days after losing consciousness following his detention by Duluth police. Police reported that, on the evening of October 12, Croud was intoxicated and harassing customers outside Fond-du-Luth Casino (an incident which the casino denies). Police claim he resisted arrest and was brought to St. Mary's Medical Center where he stopped breathing and was placed on life support. The incident was witnessed by the owner of Downtown Computer, Mike Mancini, and two of his employees, who described the behavior of the two officers involved as unnecessarily aggressive. They maintain police thrust Croud into the sandstone storefront wall and flung him to the sidewalk while attempting to handcuff him, leaving a pool of blood on the pavement. After he was cuffed and in the back of a patrol car, one of the officers ran forward to another squad car, retrieved an item, and carried it back. The officer reached into the back of the car toward Croud, inserting his upper body and both arms into the car for approximately ten seconds. Mancini observed a blue flash. Mancini was so disturbed by the violence of the encounter that he later called the police department to report it.

On October 21, Erma Vizenor, chairwoman of the White Earth Reservation Tribal Council, informed Mayor Herb Bergson that the tribe (of which Croud was a member) would conduct its own investigation and urged the city to collaborate, explaining that without a cooperative effort, the tribe will not accept the investigation's outcome.

On October 28, a citizen's group organized by local American Indians and the Youth for Socialist Action, held a vigil in front of City Hall to draw scrutiny to rising tensions between Duluth's Indian communities and local police as well as to call for an independent investigation into Croud's death.

Mayor Bergson quickly backpedaled. Bergson, himself a former police officer, was accused of prejudging the case after a public statement on October 14 (prior to any investigation) in which he said he would "put...my life on the line" as to the honor of the officers involved. By the time the coroner released his autopsy results on November 1, Bergson was telling reporters, "...it does not make sense for me to have public comment. There's a lot I'd like to say, but it's better to wait."

Meanwhile, another eyewitness has come forward. Tim Winker, a cab driver and freelance writer (whose work has appeared in the Reader two or three times in the past) was driving his cab eastbound on Superior Street on the evening of October 12 when he came across several patrol cars near Downtown Computer. Because one was double- parked, it blocked him from continuing down Superior Street. Winker was in a position to witness a portion of the encounter and saw a uniformed officer guiding Croud (who was handcuffed and whose face appeared dirty and bloody) to the double-parked squad. The officer guided Croud to the passenger-side rear fender of the car and paused to open the rear door. Winker stated that Croud was standing passively and appeared dazed. The officer then turned back and smashed Croud's face twice into the trunk lid of the squad, causing Croud to collapse. According to Winker, Croud made no effort to resist or flee while Winker was present. "The officer was downright brutal," Winker said. At this point, a plainclothes officer approached and assisted the uniformed officer with getting Croud into the car. At this time, oncoming traffic abated, permitting Winker to pull around the squad and continue down the street. Winker called Channel 10 with this information, but was told they weren't interested. He emailed this information to the Duluth News- Tribune, but received no response.

Police are not commenting on whether a Taser was deployed in the incident and Police Chief Roger Waller has failed to return calls from the Reader. St. Louis County Medical Examiner, Thomas Uncini, released an autopsy report that stated, "trauma or the use of a Taser played no role in his death." The Reader notes that this statement does not rule out that trauma or a Taser was inflicted upon Croud, merely that they did not cause his death. Uncini's report identified the cause of death as a lack of oxygen to the brain secondary to cardiopulmonary arrest secondary to ingestion of alcohol and the anti-psychotic drug haloperidol. On November 2, the Duluth News-Tribune characterized these statements as "Examiner rules death accidental."

Given witness descriptions of Croud's bloodied face, it's not surprising that he was taken to the emergency room instead of detox. Likewise, if Croud was belligerent, it's not necessarily surprising that St. Mary's administered haloperidol. Known most commonly by its brand name, Haldol, the drug is a neuroleptic that also functions as a heavy tranquilizer.

Among the facilities where Croud might have ended up on October 12, this is apparently standard operating procedure. Gary Olson, the executive director of the Center for Alcohol and Drug Treatment, told the Duluth News-Tribune, "Haldol is normally considered the safest drug to use when somebody is intoxicated." According to Dr. Gary Foley of St. Mary's, administering haloperidol to those agitated by drugs or alcohol is routine. Foley told the DNT, "Unfortunately, unexpected death is one of the known problems with that drug and many others."

But it does remain puzzling that none of the DNT reports link Croud's injuries to the police decision to bring him to the emergency room, instead suggesting that it was Croud's alleged truculence that caused police to decide to bring him to St. Mary's (as if drunk, resistant suspects are routinely brought to the hospital instead of detox or jail).

What's still more puzzling is that, according to the US National Library of Medicine, haloperidol is "absolutely contraindicated" in conjunction with alcohol intoxication and the World Health Organization cites no historical changes in haliperidol's indications since the drug was first developed in 1957. In fact, the Reader has been unable to find a single drug compendium or authoritative reference source that does not strongly discourage the administration of haloperidol to an intoxicated patient.

Dr. Eric Ringsred, an emergency room physician at St. Luke's Hospital, helped provide some balance between these seemingly disparate medical opinions. In a statement to the Reader, Ringsred explained that haloperidol is also given to intoxicated patients at St. Luke's and, indeed, routinely throughout the country. He acknowledged the contraindications, but explained, "We have to give them something and [haloperidol] is the best we've got" in order to prevent choking, vomiting, and other complications associated with intoxication. Coma and respiratory failure are the most common adverse reactions in intoxicated patients, which are typically and safely rectified by prompt resuscitation.

Earlier in the afternoon of October 12, police were notified of a disturbance at The Red Lion bar because Croud had thrown a barstool at an employee. The Red Lion ejected Croud from the bar and then cancelled the call before police responded.

The Reader has learned from a source familiar with the Duluth Police Department that the officers involved have informally denied using a Taser on Croud and expect that they will be vindicated by the video footage of the event captured on Fond-du-Luth's security camera. This source confirmed some details in the previous Reader account, including that the woman Mancini described as a fellow witness to the event was, indeed, another officer. After Croud was brought to St. Mary's, he was given an injection in the presence of officers. After the injection, medical staff left the room. Though police responsibility had ended by that time, one officer stayed behind to check on Croud's condition. The officer noticed that Croud appeared to have stopped breathing, and summoned medical staff.

The American Civil Liberties Union has taken the case on behalf of Croud's family. St. Louis County Attorney, Alan Mitchell, has asked Washington County to make the decision whether to file any criminal charges. On November 1, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension turned over its findings to the Washington County Attorney. Virtually everyone involved has declined comment since, pending any criminal charges. Thus we are expected to wait, hoping for a thorough and collaborative investigation and a straight answer as to what happened to David Croud on October 12.

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