At least 16 people died in California over a decade following a physical encounter with police during which medical personnel also injected them with a powerful sedative, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found .
Several of the deaths happened in the San Francisco Bay Area, including two in recent years involving people restrained by the Richmond Police Department. Other places with cases included Los Angeles, San Diego and cities in Orange and San Bernardino counties.
While the use of the drug ketamine has drawn scrutiny in other states, AP’s investigation found that California paramedics almost always used midazolam, better known by its brand name Versed.
The deaths were among more than 1,000 that AP’s investigation documented across the United States of people who died after officers used not their guns, but physical force or weapons such as Tasers that — like sedatives — are not meant to kill. Medical officials said police force caused or contributed to about half of all deaths.