Sudden custodial deaths in the wake of violent restraint encounters have emerged as a critical issue for police, correctional, and medical care workers around the world. In Sudden Deaths in Custody, leading researchers and experts review the medical, legal, psychological, and administrative aspects of violent restraint encounters and offer insights into controlling such incidents. The authors assess the medical considerations in such cases, including how the stress of an encounter may influence the physiological responses of the subject, how chemical substances may affect the behavior of and contribute to the death of the person in custody, and offer an explanation of the role of excited delirium. The authors also address the use of force involving neck holds, restraints, aerosols, tasers, and other physical restraints. Numerous examples illustrate the nature and problems associated with sudden in-custody restraint deaths, along with a survey of the issues involved in performing a custodial death investigation and the legal question of civil liability. The authors also discuss risk management strategies, policy and procedure concerns, training issues, subject monitoring, prisoner transportation, officer incident reporting, and investigating an incident from an agency perspective.
Comprehensive and authoritative, Sudden Deaths in Custody illuminates the many facets of sudden in-custody deaths to better prepare police officers, administrators, investigators, and medical personnel for such events and the frequent civil lawsuits claiming wrongful death.

Zusammenfassung
Sudden in-custody restraint deaths have emerged as a critical and imp- tant problem for police, correctional, and medical care workers. The scope and magnitude of the problem clearly reveals that the subject matter is worthy of further consideration. Although the frequency of these deaths is very low, the criticality of its occurrence requires attention to the subject matter. The purpose of Sudden Deaths in Custody is to provide current information that addresses the issue from a number of perspectives. It is our purpose to assemble, under one title, current research that addresses the varying facets that underscore the nature of sudden in-custody deaths. The intent is to provide information that can further educate and assist those officers, adm- istrators, investigators, trainers, and medical personnel who must interact, intervene, and make decisions about how to prevent sudden in-custody deaths. Sudden Deaths in Custody specifically addresses sudden in-custody deaths that occur after a violent confrontation. Such incidents may occur after police or correction officers' intervention, but also include incidents that may occur in a mental health facility or emergency medical field setting. The deaths described in this volume all involve sudden death within minutes or hours of contact preceded by one or more of the following: violent confrontation with police or corrections personnel, forcible control measures, and behavior inf- enced by a chemical substance, or mental impairment. Incidents involving custodial suicides, homicides, accidents, fatal pursuits, or police shootings are excluded.

Inhalt
The Nature of Sudden In-Custody Deaths.- Medical Overview of Sudden In-Custody Deaths.- Neck Holds.- Positional and Restraint Asphyxia.- Restraint Stress.- The Role of Illicit Drug Use in Sudden In-Custody Death.- Excited Delirium.- Riot Control Agents, Tasers, and Other Less Lethal Weapons.- Case Analysis of Restraint Deaths in Law Enforcement and Corrections.- Deaths in Custody Investigations.- Liability and Wrongful In-Custody Deaths.- Administrative Implications.