A Yale assistant English professor who died in the police lock-up suffered a heart attack after taking methamphetamine, according to a newly concluded report on his death.
The report was prepared by Chief State Medical Examiner James Gill. He reported on the results to the Independent Monday afternoon.
The professor, Samuel See (pictured), died accidentally, Gill concluded. He described the cause of death as “acute methamphetamine and amphetamine intoxication with recent miocardial infarct.”
Marshals discovered See’s body at 6 a.m. on Nov. 24. See, who was 34, had been arrested the night before in a domestic dispute with his husband. Both men had court-ordered protective orders barring them from having contact with each other.
The case provoked a protest march and questions from See’s friends and family about how exactly he died — and whether marshals mishandled his case.
Monday’s report confirms what police said from the beginning: that See did not commit suicide.
Still left in question: When did he take the drugs? Did he take them before police arrested him? If so, why didn’t a warning flag go up at the hospital, where he was treated before being taken to the lock-up? Did he somehow manage to bring drugs into the lock-up?
The medical examiner’s investigation did not determine when See had taken the drugs. The death certificate lists the “date/time of injury” as “unknown.”
Assistant Police Chief Archie Generoso, who is overseeing an internal investigation into the handling of the See case, refused Monday afternoon to say whether the probe turned up evidence of drugs having been in the lock-up. He said he won’t comment on a pending investigation; he claimed this investigation is not yet complete.
Generoso also said he hadn’t yet been made aware of the results of the medical examiner’s report.
“I cannot comment on an open investigation. Once we receive the official autopsy report from the medical examiner, in consultation with the state’s attorney’s office, we will either continue our investigation or close it,” Generoso said.
Gill, the medical examiner, told the Independent Monday that he can’t comment on “specific cases.”
“In general, a recent myocardial infarct means that a person had damage to the heart from not enough oxygen getting to it. Recent means a few days earlier,” Gill stated. “Amphetamines and methamphetamine can cause heart damage such as a myocardial infarct (death of heart tissue) and this damage can cause a fatal arrhythmia of the heart right away or days later. Amphetamines and methamphetamines can also cause a sudden fatal arrhythmia of the heart.
“In general, amphetamine can be smoked, ingested, snorted, or injected. A fatal irregular rhythm of the heart (what some people may call a heart attack) can be caused by methamphetamine or amphetamine. In general it is not so much as an “overdose” with amph/meth deaths. These are drugs that can trigger heart arrhythmias at a variety of levels as well as cause heart damage (also known as a heart attack).”
Paul Bass Photo
See’s sister (at right in photo; she declined to be interviewed or identified by name) addressed a Dec. 10 protest rally at police headquarters. “I called the police for help for Sam. Now he’s dead,” she said.
Meanwhile, Yale-New Haven Hospital spokesman Mark D’Antonio was asked about the protocol for testing for drugs and releasing patients who may be high on drugs. He responded with this official statement:
“Patients who come in under police custody are first and foremost, exactly that — patients. The medical staff treat them as patients with a medical condition first and foremost, and they are not viewed as prisoners. The police who bring in a patient like this are usually close by and monitor that patient, along with assistance they may require from the members of the YNHH protective services dept who always work in cooperation with outside law enforcement agencies when there is a patient brought in by law enforcement. It’s important to note our protective services professionals are always there to assist with cases like this. Patients brought in escorted by law enforcement receive the best care possible just like every other patient that presents to our ED.
“I can’t speak to specifics to his case but in general that is how these types of cases are handled. What is essential to understand is that they are our patients first, and they receive the best care possible always with no exceptions whatsoever.
“I can’t speak to the question of drug testing b c that gets into a specific case. Each case is different so we can’t address that or even paint with a broad brush of generalities or declare what is usually done. Each case is handled individually, separate and distinctly because no two cases would ever be identical.
“Finally, a patient is cleared for discharge when the medical staff in the ED declares that patient fit for discharge. Its the discretion of the medical staff attending to each patient to make that esoteric decision. They factor in all variables.”
Paul Bass Photo
See’s supporters march against traffic on Elm Street on Dec. 10.
Thomas MacMillan contributed reporting.