Milton Banks was arrested by Denver police on July 14 after allegedly assaulting and attempting to carjack a driver on the 2100 block of East Colfax. According to police and fire department accounts, Banks, who was wearing only underwear, was acting erratically and attempted to rob other citizens before officers arrived.
Police struggled to subdue and handcuff him. Banks, 42, was restrained on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back, according to his autopsy report, obtained by CBS Colorado. A Denver Health paramedic subsequently injected him with a sedative, Versed, and Banks later died at a hospital.
The autopsy determined Banks died of a heart attack ‘ following prolonged struggle and physical restraint’. The medical examiner classified the manner of death as homicide, and said the presence of a synthetic cannabanoid in his system ‘was a significant contributing factor’.
But Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Sterling McLaren told CBS Colorado that the ruling should not be interpreted as a finding of criminal wrongdoing…