Suspect dies while in BCSO custody

23-year-old man stuffed baggie of pot in his mouth during arrest, authorities say

 December 11, 2009 10:58:00 AM

PANAMA CITY BEACH — A man who was tased by Bay County Sheriff’s deputies choked to death on a “large bag of marijuana,” sheriff’s officials said Friday morning. Part of the incident was caught on video recordings.

Authorities said Andrew Grande, 23, of 219 Placido Place, was running away from deputies at the Executive Inn on Front Beach Road after they responded to a physical disturbance there about 2 a.m. Friday. The deputies made contact with Crystal Amber Cronnon, 22, of 103 Dana Way, who identified Grande as the person who assaulted her. Officials said Cronnon is a friend of Grande’s and that the two had argued while Cronnon was driving in the area. Grande pushed her several times and then got out of the car near the Executive Inn, officials said.

A man, who identified himself as Cronnon’s father at the home on Dana Way, said she no longer lived there and would not talk to the media about the incident. He described her as very distraught.

Attempts to contact Grande’s family were not successful Friday.

When deputies confronted Grande, they were able to place a handcuff on his wrist, and during the struggle they observed Grande attempting to place something in his mouth.

The recordings

The rest of the incident is caught on two video recordings for Tru TV and on a sheriff’s dashboard camera. A three-person crew was riding with deputies during the incident and caught most of it. The Sheriff’s Office released the recordings Friday. Tru TV officials did not return calls seeking comment.

One of the recordings opens with a deputy shouting, “Spit it out.”

The recording shows Grande on the ground while three deputies hold him down.

He is wheezing.

One of the Bay County Sheriff’s deputies is heard talking by radio with a dispatcher.

“He swallowed something,” the deputy says. Grande tries, desperately, to talk. The deputies have Grande’s right hand behind his back. He attempts to get up.

Deputies tell him to stop resisting or they will tase him, but he gets to his feet. They tase him and he immediately rips the stun gun’s prongs out of his chest.

He falls to the ground. While seated, he puts his hand in his mouth and down his throat in what appears to be an attempt to vomit. When that does not succeed, Grande slaps his hand against the concrete and then both of his hands against his chest.

“I can’t breathe,” he says. “I can’t breathe.”

The deputies perform the Heimlich maneuver, but they cannot get the object out of his throat.

“Let us help you, man,” one of them shouts. “Hang in there.”

The cause of death

After emergency medical technicians arrived, they removed the bag of marijuana from his throat with forceps, officials said. Grande was taken to Bay Medical Center and pronounced dead at the hospital, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release. An autopsy was performed Friday afternoon and the preliminary cause of death is asphyxia due to obstruction of the airway by a foreign material, officials said.

Bay County Sheriff’s officials said three deputies were involved in the incident, Sgt. Billy Byrd, Deputy Rick Williams and Deputy David Higgins.

At a press conference Friday afternoon, Sheriff Frank McKeithen said he felt bad for Grande’s family and for the deputies involved.

“These guys watched this person die and there was absolutely nothing they could do about it,” McKeithen said.

He said the deputies did not realize at first that Grande was choking and they initially believed he was overdosing. McKeithen said Grande likely only faced misdemeanor charges if he had just complied with the deputies.

“It could have been handled by compliance,” McKeithen said. “It pretty much ended up with him taking his own life.”

Officials said Grande had a minor criminal history, including arrests for battery and trespassing.

The deputies have been placed on administrative leave, and McKeithen has asked Florida’s Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the incident. Both of those actions are common after a death that involves a deputy. None of the deputies have been reprimanded in their history with the Sheriff’s Office, McKeithen added.

From: http://www.newsherald.com/news/grande-79800-deputies-officials.html