Keltron Charles Singleton - taser, sickle cell anemia, death

"Lawsuit filed over stun gun death" [LINK]

"...Singleton did have the sickle cell trait..."

Keltron Charles Singleton, who had somehow miraculously (sic) made it to 30 years of age in spite of his precarious and delicate condition [I guess he never ran a block in 30 years, not once...] (sic), died Oct. 30, 2009 [LINK], after being shot with a stun gun. Autopsy results, as with many taser stun gun-associated deaths, were "inconclusive" (as would be expected since a taser-death would leave few postmortem clues). Mr. Singleton was initially approached by officers with the Baton Rouge Police Department because he was wearing clothing similar to a suspected robber...

Upon arrival, EMS workers did not immediately tend to Singleton and instead talked with police officers on scene, the lawsuit claims. "EMS knew or should have known of Mr. Singleton’s declining condition and were negligent in not addressing his condition immediately upon arrival," the lawsuit says.

The workers specifically should have determined whether or not Singleton had sickle cell anemia, "which would have rendered him exceptionally susceptible to severe medical complications relative to tasing," the lawsuit says.

Robert Tucker, who represents the women in the lawsuit, said Singleton did have the sickle cell trait. Tucker also said the use of the stun gun contributed to Singleton’s death.

...

The lawsuit was filed late Thursday in state District Court against East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Kip Holden, Police Chief Jeff LeDuff, Coroner Shannon Cooper and Emergency Medical Services.

Not a Federal court? State? What state?...

...Louisiana.

Snowball, meet Hell.