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Inmate’s death raises questions about a common police tactic

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January 24, 2016 at 9:12 p.m. EST

The death of a 112-pound jail inmate who choked on his own vomit and suffocated after Denver sheriff's deputies restrained him during a psychotic episode is drawing new attention to the way he was subdued: face-down on his stomach with five deputies holding him to the floor.

Experts warn the common but risky police tactic of restraining someone in a prone position can be lethal, especially on those with medical problems and the mentally ill, whose distress is sometimes confused with resistance.

While the method has been linked to several deaths nationwide, some in law enforcement say it remains one of the most effective ways to stay safe while controlling a combative person.

Denver officials recently released surveillance footage of deputies’ encounter with Michael Marshall, 50, a homeless man who had been jailed for trespassing and died because of “complications of positional asphyxia,” according to the medical examiner.

District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said he wouldn’t file charges against the six deputies involved, saying multiple factors, including lung and heart disease, contributed to the death. The deputies’ use of force was necessary against the struggling inmate, Morrissey said.

The case, which prompted calls for a federal investigation, recalled the similar death of Marvin Booker, a homeless street preacher in 2010 after Denver deputies shocked him with a Taser while he was handcuffed, put him in a sleeper hold and lay on top of him.

The medical examiner said he died of “cardiorespiratory arrest during restraint.”

The Justice Department has long warned officers about the dangers of “positional asphyxia,” or death because someone’s position complicates the ability to breathe. “As soon as a suspect is handcuffed, get him off his stomach,” the agency wrote in a 1995 bulletin.

Problems arise when a person is held prone for prolonged periods, experts said.

No agency collects data showing how many people suffocate as a result of being restrained face-down nationally, so it’s impossible to say whether use of the tactic has increased.

When the maneuver turns deadly, it's often because a suspect is disobeying commands or resisting, which can cause officers to apply even more pressure, said Harvey Hedden, executive director of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association.

"In cases where people comply, there are other options," he said.

— Associated Press