June 9, 2011 in Idaho

Man having diabetic episode Tased by police

Low blood sugar caused him to be incoherent, police said

Chelsea Bannach The Spokesman-Review

Tags:post falls policeresisting arresttaser

A driver was Tased today for resisting before police realized he was actually having a diabetic episode.

The incident started about 4:45 p.m. when dispatchers got a report of a man driving erratically on Seltice Way in Post Falls, “slow, fast and all over the lane,” said Post Falls police Sgt. Kathy Eshoo.

Before an officer caught up to him, the man drove over a porch and clipped the corner of a house, before stopping in the yard, she said.

The man was not complying with police orders and was Tased, Eshoo said, but he then began fighting with the officers. They eventually got him on the ground and in handcuffs, but then realized he was having a medical episode.

“Within a couple minutes, it became evident he was not coherent as to what was going on,” she said. “It appears he had extreme low blood sugar.”

No one was injured in the incident, though the house did receive superficial damage. The man was treated at the scene and was not arrested.

“He apologized to us for his actions,” Eshoo said. “He had no idea what he had done.”

21 comments on this story so far. Add yours!

avboden on June 09 at 9:09 p.m.
Why the heck does it matter that he was tazed? This is just the Spokesman trying to attack the police over nothing. They see a seemingly drunk driver who resisted arrest, and took the safest option. They realized his medical condition and took care of it.
Stop the loaded article titles, this is completely bias reporting.
Pilewort54 on June 09 at 9:25 p.m.
The Spokesman Enquirer?
bullett on June 09 at 9:41 p.m.
Was the man arrested? Of course it matters that he was tased. Law Enforcement is resorting to the use of the Taser way too often and way too soon in many instances.
hardwroc on June 09 at 9:46 p.m.
It WOULD be nice if they could dicern if he was resisting or incoherent BEFORE they taze, baton, or shoot a “SUSPECT”.
I understand safety first, so, no issue there, but, please, let’s try to communicate before lethal force, so good guys do not get killed by other good guys. And, can you imagine NOT struggling to avoid a second shot of tazer?
chelseab on June 09 at 9:50 p.m.
@bullett: Thanks for the question. No, he was not arrested.
Squid on June 09 at 9:56 p.m.
Chelsea! You are cute as a baby bug! Sooo…. Whatcha doin tonight?
Too bad this guy wasn’t suffering a heart attack, or the cops would have been heroes for defibrilating him. Just how is it possible that they screw up so often?
RedCedar on June 09 at 10:02 p.m.
I have no problem with the way this was reported, except that “diabetic episode” isn’t really a medical term. As for what the cops did, I suppose one school of thought says the man should be thankful the cops didn’t empty three or four Glock clips into him, since he obviously failed to obey orders, and the other school of thought says the cops should have better training to recognize common medical conditions that could cause erratic behavior or inability to understand orders. Thankfully this incident ended with relatively little harm, but it could easily have been tragic.
meadman on June 09 at 10:02 p.m.
bullett I bet you have never been in any situation where you have to make a serious decision in a split-second where your life or someone else’s life depends on what you decide to do….it is so easy to sit in your arm-chair and pontificate on what should or should not have been done….
Spokane_Citizen on June 09 at 10:22 p.m.
Having personally observed quite a few ‘diabetic episodes’ I have to applaud the Post Fall’s PD officers’ restraint in handling the situation….it can be almost impossible to instantly determine that the very aggressive, combative, and hostile reactions of such a person are the result of a medical condition, rather than a dangerous individual on illicit drugs. The officers used appropriate non-lethal force, the citizen is still alive, none of the officers were injured, and there’s a perfectly rational explanation for this non-perpentrator’s behavior. It’s about as good an outcome as could be hoped for…..no Glocks were fired, and everyone goes home tonight, safe and sound.
Providing_Buttonholes on June 09 at 11:05 p.m.
I’m sure glad that the police are trained to recognize diabetic problems. Otherwise they just might tase and shoot someone.
maria on June 10 at 5:29 a.m.
I suspect that the guy had on a medical ID bracelet or necklace indicating he is an insulin-dependent diabetic. I doubt the cops figured that out on their own.
Sadbuttrue on June 10 at 6:01 a.m.
This case amply illustrates why the training that police receive nowadays can be analyzed as an indoctrinated form of paranoid mental illness.
This profession loudly proclaims itself as “heroes.” There is nothing remotely heroic about tasering another human being who is having a diabetic attack.
This is a manifestation of an ideology to seize power, no matter the consequences. Police cars no longer proclaim “To Protect and Serve.” The new ideology is proclaimed loud and clear “Keep Away.”
Self Protection is the new mantra. Preserving one’s own skin in order to effectively rule society is what police do now.
misjustice on June 10 at 6:25 a.m.
Eshoo apologized. Did the cops?
lewis8457 on June 10 at 6:29 a.m.
well getting tased because you have a medical problem is bad but if it happened in Spokane he would be dead from the SPD;s double taps to the chest with .45 glock, I will take the Tase anyday.
Plus the SR loves our local police but they have to sell papers. We never see a complete coverage of a police incident in the SR like we do in the Inlander.
Orange on June 10 at 6:41 a.m.
Yeah, what misjustice said. Did they? At least buy the guy dinner to get his sugar levels back on track…It was dinner time.
Albert on June 10 at 7:26 a.m.
Ms. Bannach, this report is WELL DONE. I am very impressed with the Post Falls Police professionalism in this matter. Their reaction was by the proverbial book. The FACT that the PF Police are TRAINED to this degree wherein they can recognize AND treat a medical emergency is profound. This event demonstrates the high degree of their training - and compassion.
If this event were to have occurred in Spokane, then I have absolutely no doubt that the SPD would have shot this man. No questions asked, then the “investigation” into the event would have been covered up. This is a fact.
Congratulations Post Falls Police Department for a job well done.
Sadbuttrue on June 10 at 7:44 a.m.
The police “thought” the man was resisting. The Police in Kootenai County “think” people are “resisting” them in a truly outrageous and alarming percentage of time. The arrest rates in Kootenai County for the crimes of Delaying and Obstructing a Police Officer (contempt of cop) and Battery on a Police Officer (where all too often the Defendant is some puny, skinny slip of a girl) often dwarf the combined arrest totals of Idaho’s two most populous counties combined, Ada and Canyon County.
Ada and Canyon counties have more than ten times the population of Kootenai County.
In Kootenai County, a pregnant woman giving birth in jail must be handcuffed “for officer safety.” A tiny, frantically-lost pug dog must be shot and killed for officer safety. A diabetic must be tazed “for officer safety.”
Is it permissible or even thinkable for ER doctors and nurses, facing the same identical “threats” and worse, to deploy tasers and handcuffs in such a promiscuous, self-serving manner?
If not, why not?
Squid on June 10 at 1:15 p.m.
Sadbuttrue, you make an incredibly good point in your last paragraph. You gotta wonder how the hospital staff, that aren’t trained to deal with combative patients in a fatal or more combative way than the patient, can control their patients. You never read about tragedies in the hospitals, but hospitals deal with dangerous people as often as the police do.
Maybe the hospitals should train the police?
Sadbuttrue on June 10 at 3:09 p.m.
The Police in this area use excessive force an absolutely ridiculous amount of time. So much so that one must conclude that the occupation just attracts sadistic bullies who love causing pain and distress in their fellows.
Just look at the War on Terror. Since 2001, I cannot find one single incident where the Federal authorities have domestically used even tasers in apprehending some of the most dangerous people on the planet, who by definition are committed to killing large numbers of us. I cannot find a single incident where the Feds, in 10 years of this domestic war, have EVER used deadly force. Not once! Yet in Spokane, where the police killed more people in a year than New York City (with at least 20 times the population), the cop defenders gush out of the woodwork to defend even the most blatantly trigger-happy cop. New York City brags ….. BRAGS …. about how much restraint their cops use. Can you IMAGINE a police force that brags about how few fatalities they cause? Local cops defend every single use of deadly force with rhetoric that can only be described as paranoid hysteria.
They truly must view us as enemy combatants.
Julia70 on June 15 at 9:34 a.m.
cops in idaho, not very well trained, but I hear they do have a 6th grade edgiecation.
Providing_Buttonholes on June 15 at 9:40 a.m.
Two requirements to be a Kootenai Sheriff,
1) Go to Kootenai High School
2) Fail to graduate.