Anoxic brain injury is a lack of oxygen to the brain. Atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response prevents the heart from meeting the body’s need for oxygenated blood, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Dayton police Chief Kamran Afzal on June 9 announced what he called a “critical incident” during a media briefing at the public safety building. Afzal did not name Lewis, but said “he is not expected to make it.”
Dayton police were dispatched at 5:49 a.m. June 7 to a report of a crash and found an unoccupied SUV that was smoking near Gillespie Park at the DeSoto Bass public housing complex. The vehicle’s airbags deployed in the crash and the SUV sustained damage to the front and sides after driving through two metal fences, the chief said.
Credit: Marshall Gorby
Credit: Marshall Gorby
Officers Chelsea Weitz and Dylan Lehotay found the driver, later identified as Lewis, nearby with an injury to his arm and ripped pants who said he needed help. They called for medics at 6:03 a.m.
Body camera footage showed Lewis become agitated while waiting for medics to arrive. The two officers on scene tried to get him to sit and to calm him but he backed up against their cruiser and balled his hands into fists.
Lewis resisted the officers when they tried to handcuff him. During the struggle, he grabbed an officer’s Taser and ripped it from his duty vest, Afzal said.
“Once he was secured, they noticed he has lost consciousness,” the chief said.
Lewis briefly regained consciousness after the officers turned him over as they were trained, Afzal said.
Medics arrived at 6:13 a.m. during the struggle, and began to assess Lewis. He was taken at 6:28 a.m. to Miami Valley Hospital, where Afzal said he was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia. He remained in critical condition and not expected to survive, he said.
Lewis was declared brain dead and was pronounced dead at 12:40 p.m. July 9 at the hospital. He suffered cardiac arrest, according to a preliminary autopsy report reviewed by the Dayton Daily News.
Investigators noted blunt force trauma after finding abrasions and contusions on Lewis’ arms, chest, knees and back, according to the preliminary report, which also indicated Lewis had multiple health conditions prior to his death.
The draft report stated cardiac arrest occurred after police used a Taser on Lewis. However, Dayton police said a Taser was not deployed during the interaction with Lewis. Coroner’s investigators also confirmed that no Taser prong marks were found on Lewis’s body during examination.
The Dayton Police Department opened a use of force investigation following the incident involving Weitz, a four-year veteran of the department, and Lehotay, who joined the force one year ago, the chief said previously.
“The Dayton Police Department is aware of the findings of the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office,” the department said in a statement issued Tuesday. “The investigation into the incident is still ongoing. Both officers are working their normal assignment and schedule.”
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