Trea Ellinger reassured his worried mother that everything was alright when he left a drug rehab center in Baltimore last summer. He was ready to see his lover and had taken his meds.
He was dead by the next afternoon, not from the violence his mother thought he would encounter in downtown Baltimore, but rather from not making it through an encounter with first responders.
Ellinger, 29, passed away following sedation and constraint. Investigators and experts claim that when the shackled Ellinger moved onto his stomach and stayed there for several minutes, responders did not move quickly enough, despite repeated remarks made by police and medical personnel on the site about the risks associated with lying face down in the prone position.
His passing adds to the number of comparable cases. The practice of administering sedatives to people held by police has quietly expanded across the country over the last 15 years, according to a recent Associated Press investigation. The tactic, which was meant to lessen violence and preserve lives, has led to a few unnecessary deaths.
According to Ellinger’s autopsy, he overdosed on methadone, a medication that is frequently used to reduce cravings for opioids, and an antidepressant. The results did not state whether his death was caused by any other circumstances.
Lori Ellinger, his mother, is skeptical of the autopsy’s conclusions and wants to know why the paramedics chose to administer an injectable sedative.
“I do believe they killed my son with that shot,” she stated. “He shouldn’t be dead at 29 years old.”
An intelligible 911 caller said that a man was lying in the middle of a downtown Baltimore street, acting belligerent and frightened, and speaking incoherently, according to an investigative report released in May by the Maryland attorney general’s office.
Ellinger was handcuffed by police during the interaction, according to body camera footage, at the doctors’ request. After administering a midazolam injection, the officers placed him on his side and transferred him to a stretcher.
Ellinger was initially placed back on his side, but the report states that while first responders fastened the stretcher straps, Ellinger’s thrashing turned him onto his stomach. One medic began monitoring his vital signs inside the ambulance, and another sat by his head.
According to the report, he stayed face down while occasionally fumbling with the straps of the stretcher.The medics talked about moving Ellinger four minutes later, but they took their time. Ellinger resumed “moving only slightly” after a further minute, according to the report.
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Ellinger’s lips were blue when the physician helped move him onto his side and finally undid the straps. The same medical professional informed his colleague that he was capable of giving the opioid overdose reversal drug Narcan.
According to the complaint, Ellinger was taken from his hands and placed on his back as medical professionals started chest compressions. After his pulse returned, he was taken to the hospital, where he eventually passed away.
The most evident issue, according to Eric Jaeger, a New Hampshire emergency medical services educator unrelated to the case, was that Ellinger was left prone for a number of minutes by the medics, which might have made it harder for him to breathe.
He claimed that he used the bodycam film to demonstrate to his students what might happen when a patient’s airways aren’t given enough priority when under anesthesia.
He also questioned the initial choice to put Ellinger under sedation, arguing that given the risks involved, medical professionals should exercise extra caution when deciding when to use these medications.
Concerning the matter, fire authorities refused to respond to inquiries, including if an internal inquiry is being carried out by the organization. Inquiries concerning the matter have not received a response from the mayor’s office, nor did the union representing firefighters and paramedics want to comment.
Lori Ellinger, meanwhile, is still attempting to come to terms with her only child’s sudden death. She is sporting a necklace in the form of a guitar, which represents Trea’s love of music. She remembers his early years as she flips through old pictures on her phone.
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After completing high school, Trea Ellinger, who was raised in a rural area in northeastern Maryland, worked for a concrete company.
Throughout his 20s, he traveled the nation with a traveling carnival, a profession he enjoyed, despite his battles with substance misuse. Before he passed away, he was taking methadone to help control his opioid cravings and trying to stay on course.
He has previously received diagnoses for mental health conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar illness, according to his mother.
The day prior to his passing, Lori Ellinger dropped by her son’s treatment center and gave him some groceries. He appeared cheerful, according to her.
Yet after a few hours, he called to report that, during a fight, one of the other residents had stabbed him in the shoulder. According to her, the clinic requested him to leave even though his injuries weren’t too serious.
She thinks he spent that night sleeping on the streets. According to the investigative report, he was observed blundering around downtown Baltimore the following afternoon, falling multiple times and appearing confused.
Lori Ellinger’s heart aches for her kid as she watches the recordings and reads the report. She didn’t receive a call informing her that he had passed away until hours later, despite the fact that it was obvious he was going through a crisis.
“I love and miss him,” she stated. “We had a lot of good years — but not enough.”
