Police doctor accused of emetics use

Police doctor again charged with vomiting because of emetics: doctor prescribed cough syrup

09/04/2013

A 49-year-old former police doctor has to answer to Bremen for the third time in court. The reason: In early 2005, the doctor had a suspected drug dealer forcibly a so-called „breaking syrup“ administered via a nasogastric tube to reveal swallowed cocaine. After the 35-year-old man from Sierra Leone had been infused with emetics, his health suddenly deteriorated rapidly as emetics and water had entered the African's lungs during the procedure. Although the accused ex-police doctor responded by calling an ambulance, he did not stop administering the drug - as a result the man fell into a coma and died in the clinic a few days later.

In two proceedings so far acquitted
The responsible physician has therefore already been on trial twice before because of the fatal administration of an emetics drug and has been acquitted on both occasions: in the first case in December 2008, he was not able, from the point of view of the judges, to have had too little training and lack of experience. to assess the consequences of his actions - even if, judged objectively, he was undoubtedly to blame for the man's death. In the second trial, it was precisely this that could no longer be determined with certainty, which ultimately led the judges to another acquittal.

Federal Court overturned both decisions: reissue of the process
However, the acquittals had only a short validity, because in both cases, the decisions of the judges before the Federal Court (BGH) did not exist - instead, the BGH overturned the judgments and referred the proceedings back to the Bremen Regional Court. Here is the third edition of the process, for which five additional trial dates are scheduled for mid-May.

Stop emetics use after death of the man
The death of the man from Sierra Leone had immediately led to consequences in 2006, in Bremen, the highly controversial forced administration of emetics was stopped immediately. Back then there was direct support from the European Court of Human Rights, which in 2006 condemned Germany in a similar case of a 19-year-old who died in similar circumstances in Hamburg. At that time, the European Court of Justice had outlawed the method as "inhuman". (No)

Picture: Arno Bachert