Ambulance staff members accused of choking and punching a man they were treating at a bus stop did not contribute to his death, authorities said Tuesday.
Jason Marshall, 42, died Aug. 8, two days after fighting with fire department and Emergency Medical Services Authority workers checking on his medical condition, court records show.
Oklahoma City police launched an investigation after fire department officials told them about the incident. Investigators seized 448 pages of medical records from St. Anthony Hospital, where Marshall died, and 12 pages of medical records from EMSA.
"We interviewed everybody involved," police Capt. Dexter Nelson said Tuesday.
Police concluded their investigation after the state medical examiner decided not to change Marshall's manner of death from natural.
"If anyone else would have contributed to the death, it would have been ruled a homicide," said Amy Elliott, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner. "No evidence was found to change the manner."
EMSA spokeswoman Lara O'Leary declined to comment except to confirm police had concluded their investigation.
According to a search warrant affidavit, fire department and EMSA personnel went Aug. 6 to the Union Bus Station, 427 W Sheridan Ave., to check on a man who "was acting disoriented and causing problems."
Firefighters were able to talk Marshall into getting into an ambulance, but he "became violent and began assaulting fire and EMSA personnel," police reported.
Marshall "kicked and scratched one fireman then bit the thumb of an EMSA worker," police said, adding that first responders had to fight with Marshall to restrain him and sprayed an anti-anxiety spray into his nose.
The spray caused Marshall to calm down and pass out or lose consciousness, police reported.
During the struggle, "EMSA personnel placed Marshall in a choke hold and struck Marshall in the face area several times," an investigator wrote in the affidavit.
Copyright 2012 - The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
