Hospital security uses Taser to subdue patient

By Andrew Gorder, Journal staff | Saturday, July 12, 2008

Previous Page

Share

• del.icio.us
• Digg
• NewsVine
• Fark

Print

Email

A Rapid City man says he was harassed and shocked Tuesday with a stun gun by security guards at Rapid City Regional Hospital after a physical confrontation with the guards.

Nicholas Breining, 27, of Rapid City said he went to the hospital's emergency department to receive treatment for a viral throat and sinus infection but was asked to leave after a nurse became irritated by the amount of noise he was making in the waiting room.

Breining, who said he has Tourette's syndrome, said he explained to the nurse that his ailment often causes him to drum or tap involuntarily and that he "didn't mean to make a disturbance."

"I saw the guards behind her in the hallway, and I'm wondering, 'Why did she bring security guards with her?'" Breining said.

The hospital staff then refused to treat him and asked him to vacate the building.

Breining said he agreed to leave but was stopped by one of the security guards when he tried to go out the exit that was closest to where he was parked.

"At that point, I felt like I was being harassed," he said. "When I went to leave, he pushed me, and I pushed him back."

With their Tasers drawn, the security officers then ordered Breining to the ground and told him he was being placed under citizen's arrest.

Breining said he did not believe the officers had any reason to arrest him and refused to let them handcuff him. Breining said there was a brief struggle and that he took a swing at one of the guards, missed and was then shocked by a stun gun.

"It's hard to describe," Breining said of the effect. "You just kind of hope that it's over, that he stops pulling the trigger."

A Taser is a brand of nonlethal weapon that transmits electrical pulses, usually via retractable wires. The shock incapacitates a person by contracting muscle tissues.

After Rapid City Police Department officers and Rapid City fire department paramedics arrived at the scene, Breining said the paramedics became concerned after his vital signs reached "a worrisome level." The paramedics wanted to have him readmitted to the emergency department, but hospital officials didn't want him back in the building, he said.

Officials then agreed to admit him, but Breining said they only treated him for his throat -- the condition that had brought him there in the first place.

The doctor diagnosed him with tonsillitis and gave him a prescription for treatment, Breining said.

Already in police custody, Breining was then escorted to Pennington County Jail and booked on charges of simple assault and failure to vacate, according Sgt. Dale McCabe of the Rapid City Police Department. Both charges are misdemeanors, and Breining was released on a personal recognizance bond, according to McCabe.

In a written release, hospital officials said the episode began when Breining "became verbally and physically aggressive to the nursing staff."

"Once security arrived, the man elected to leave the Emergency Department but refused to leave the property. The man then assaulted a security officer, and a Taser was used to restrain the man until the Rapid City Police arrived on the scene," the statement said.

Hospital spokeswoman Pamela Stillman-Rokusek said security guards received Taser training in January and began carrying them in February. According to Stillman-Rokusek, this is the first time the guards have actually used a Taser.

McCabe said although he was not at the scene, he believes the security guards probably used good judgment.

"At the welfare of their employees and other people at the hospital, they probably had to take action," McCabe said.

Breining said he does not have a problem with hospital security having Tasers; he simply doesn't believe they handled his situation appropriately.

"I think they should have them, so long as they're trained and they've received the shock just like police officers have to," he said.

"They told me to vacate, and I was trying to vacate. This was absolutely unnecessary," Breining said.

Breining said he will appear in court July 31.

"I know I'm not guilty, and that's what I plan on pleading," he said.

Contact Andrew Gorder at andrew.gorder@rapidcityjournal.com