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A woman died after jumping out of an ambulance and running in front of an oncoming truck on the I-580/I-680 interchange on Labor Day morning, several hours after being detained by Pleasanton police during a combative run-in with officers on Case Avenue, according to authorities.
The woman, whose name is not being released with family notification pending, was being transported to a mental health facility in San Leandro for evaluation after being medically cleared at a local hospital following the incident in which she struggled with police and was stunned by Taser rounds, according to Pleasanton police Lt. Erik Silacci.
This marks the second time in just over a month that a person has died in medical custody soon after being detained by Pleasanton police in a combative incident during which officers used Tasers.
The situation on Monday began unfolding early in the morning when police received several reports of a reckless driver who struck multiple vehicles in the 5300 block of Case Avenue, according to Silacci. Another report of the driver also hitting a pedestrian was deemed unfounded, Silacci added.
Officers arrived in the area and located the vehicle around 2 a.m., according to Silacci. The driver was initially standing next to her vehicle, but upon seeing police, she quickly got into her vehicle.
“To prevent further property damage and to reduce the likelihood of further injury, officers ordered the subject out of vehicle, but she refused,” Silacci said. “Officers then attempted to detain the subject and she physically resisted their efforts to remove her from the vehicle.”
The lieutenant said officers ultimately used a control hold to get the woman out of the vehicle, but as they were detaining her, the woman started struggling with the officers and made several attempts to grab one officer’s gun.
At that point, two officers used their Tasers to subdue the woman and gain control of the situation, according to Silacci. The woman was detained and placed under a psychiatric hold.
The woman was then taken to Stanford Health Care-ValleyCare in Pleasanton for a routine medical clearance, Silacci said. At about 7 a.m., a Norcal Ambulance arrived at the hospital to transport the woman to John George Psychiatric Pavilion in San Leandro for evaluation under the psychiatric detainer.
A half-hour later, on the way to San Leandro, the ambulance was forced to pull over on the freeway interchange in Pleasanton because of the woman was combative in the back, according to Silacci.
The woman got up from the gurney and jumped out of the ambulance on westbound I-580 just west of the I-680 interchange, according to Officer Tyler Hahn of the California Highway Patrol.
The woman then turned and ran toward oncoming freeway traffic traveling on the southbound I-680 connector ramp to westbound I-580, Hahn said. Two cars were able to dodge the woman but a third driver could not avoid the woman as she jumped in front of his large pickup truck, according to Hahn.
The woman was struck by the vehicle and died on the freeway, according to Silacci. The connector ramp was closed for about two hours on Monday morning during the investigation.
The fatality remains under separate investigations by the Pleasanton Police Department, the California Highway Patrol and the Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau, according to Silacci. Anyone with information related to the incident can contact Lt. Brandon Stocking at 931-5100 — reference case No. 18-34368.
Monday’s incident comes almost exactly one month after Pleasanton resident Jacob Bauer died at a local hospital after exhibiting respiratory distress in an ambulance on his way for medical evaluation after a combative arrest at the Oak Hills Shopping Center on Sunol Boulevard.
According to police, 38-year-old Bauer was arrested after acting erratically in the Raley’s grocery store and then fighting officers who were trying to detain him the afternoon of Aug. 1. Officers used Tasers to control Bauer. That investigation is also ongoing.
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Too bad the medical staff didn’t strap her in the gurney prior to trip to the psychiatric facility considering her demeanor. If she was combative they should have restrained her.
How traumatizing for her, her family, and the driver that accidentally hit her. More training needs to be done for handling people with mental health issues. I agree with Olivia above. She should have been restrained in the ambulance given the situation. I’ve worked in inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care and this should have been a given. Many at fault – the Stanford Health Care – Valley Care in Pleasanton which had her transported to another, more specialized psychiatric facility, and the NorCal Ambulance, which should have ensured she was transported safely. My condolences to the family of this woman. I hope both of these incidents are thoroughly investigated and more training is provided to avoid any more future deaths in this manner.
I resent the way your story seem to indicate that this is the second death after Pleasanton police tased to someone. This death actually had nothing to do with that, the woman got out of the ambulance, to where she was restrained, and ran out into the traffic. That is not the police fault. I have to tell you thay I really resent Bay Area news stations and newspapers who seem to love to pull up stories putting police in unfair light, when not the case.
Olivia and Beth, from other reports:
“Sutherland said the ambulance was staffed by two emergency medical technicians, one of whom was in the rear compartment watching over the patient. He added that the patient was restrained by three belts across the body, and two over the shoulder.
‘The vehicle was nearly at a stop when the patient undid all the restraints, overpowered the attendant, and exited the locked vehicle,’ Sutherland said.”
So please share with us how you would handle this differently.
Regular restraints (gurney belts?) are not effective for an agitated psychiatric patient. If the proper restraints had been used then she would still be alive. (Not regular gurney belts for a non-psychiatric patient.) This story was also in Newsweek, but there is no clarification of the type of restraints used. Proper restraint of a psychiatric patient does not allow the patient to undo the belts and overpower the attendant. As well, given that the woman, prior to this ambulance transport, was also combative with the police and attempting to grab their firearms when they first encountered her, the police should have been in the ambulance as well with the relocation. There would have been safety for all with police presence and proper restraints that she could not just undo during the ambulance transport. It was reported that there were two “medical experts” in the ambulance with her, but no mention of law enforcement in the ambulance. Really sad for all and another sign that the people in this country suffering from mental illness are not provided appropriate care.
Olivia and Beth:
If someone is dead set on harming ones self there is not a damn thing you can do about it. That’s the problem today. Everyone wants to place the blame on someone else for their actions.
No, Paul. Not true. If you had experience or education about people experiencing mental illness you would realize that when unmedicated, their mental state can be totally different than with effective psychotropic meds. They may present with suicidal ideations or attempts, vs. when they are medicated, when their mood and behavior is hopefully more stabilized. (Many people with a mental illness respond well to meds and others are more resistant or non-compliant, unfortunately.)
What you wrote above: “Everyone wants to place the blame on someone else for their actions” is a very broad statement, in my opinion, and I don’t think that’s true at all. Many do take responsibility for their own behavior.
Anyone can become more educated on people experiencing mental illness through the National Alliance for Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org/ There are also Fact Sheets there if you would like to glance at the info.
Why is this important? “Community attitudes about mental health can encourage or discourage people from seeking treatment — and that can impact the course of someone’s life”, and, “The less people know about mental disorders, according to the British Journal of Psychiatry, the more likely they are to be afraid or confused by them, or to hold beliefs that penalize or misunderstand the mentally ill,” quoted from this Bustle article, “This Study Shows Why American’s Ignorance About Mental Health Is Hurting Us”: https://www.bustle.com/p/this-study-shows-why-americans-ignorance-about-mental-health-is-hurting-us-55314