BELLEVUE, Ohio — The Lucas County Deputy coroner has ruled a Bellevue man's death a homicide.
According to the autopsy report, Donald Young, 33, had a drug-induced struggle with police during his arrest on Dec. 14 that ultimately led to his death.
"He had a warrant out for him and the cops were trying to arrest him and he resisted a little bit and they tased him. They tased him more than once," Donald's sister, Betty Young said.
According to the police report, Ofc. Nicholas Tenore was patrolling in the area of Redwood Drive and Maplewood Drive at approx. 8:17 p.m. when he observed a white male whom he believed to be Young. Tenore reported he knew Young had active warrants for his arrest.
Tenore reported that Young took off running several times and resisted arrest. The two physically struggled as Tenore tried to take Young into custody.
The foot pursuit ended on West Main Street near Grove Street.
At that time, Ofc. Evan Ely arrived and when Young did not comply with verbal commands, Ofc. Ely "drive stunned" Young three or four times. The officers reported Young continued to resist, but was eventually handcuffed.
EMS arrived and performed CPR on Young who became unresponsive and had gone into full cardiac arrest. He later died at University of Toledo Medical Center (UTMC).
Dr. Jeffrey Hudson, the Lucas County Deputy Coroner recently ruled Young's death a homicide; which is death at the hands of another individual.
The cause of death was methamphetamine-induced excited delirium syndrome or excited mania which creates a manic type state where endorphins are released, then the person crashes and goes into cardiac arrest.
Dr. Hudson called the syndrome an unusual physiological event that's typically encountered with people who have a history of drug abuse.
Dr. Hudson said Donald Young had 17 times the therapeutic dose of methamphetamine in his system.
The contributing factors of his death were the struggle with law enforcement, including being physically restrained, a drive-stun with a taser, and being handcuffed.
"If not for the altercation with police, would he be alive? Probably. If not for meth to be in his system, would he be alive? Probably," Dr. Hudson said.
Betty Young said she wants the police officers involved in her brother's arrest to be held accountable for their actions and for justice to be served. She doesn't believe the officers made an effort to try and save Donald.
"I want him remembered as a really good person with a big heart. He would take anybody in. He was always there just for me to confide to. We used to talk about anything and everything," she said.
An internal review in December found that the force used in the incident did not violate department policy and procedure.
Chief Marc Linder issued this statement following the coroner's findings:
"Mr. Young, as noted in the Coroner’s Report, died as a result of a combination of contributing factors. Among the factors cited by the coroner was Mr. Young's struggle with the police along with the various chemical substances found in his body, including an extremely high level of Methamphetamine.
We note that the word ''homicide'' does not imply wrongdoing or excessive use of force by the police. It means, in terms commonly used by coroners, that the death resulted from the purposeful act of another person, specifically the efforts by officers to arrest Mr. Young. The word does not imply hostile or malign intent. Note that the only other causes of death defined under Ohio law are accidental, natural and suicidal.
No investigation is ongoing by our department at this time. We are continuing to discuss an independent review of the facts and circumstances with various state and county agencies."