Recent revelations have surfaced regarding the death of Nathan Hoang, 41, who died in Hayward police custody six weeks ago after a paramedic injected him with a sedative known for its controversy and linkage to deaths in police encounters across the nation. The Hayward Police have not made this information public–a departure from expected protocol following such incidents. The case is undergoing scrutiny, with multiple investigations currently active and information slowly emerging about the March event and the procedures followed.
On the night of the incident, as reported by The Mercury News, Hoang was involved in a confrontation over a child custody dispute that escalated enough to warrant a police response. When police attempted to subdue him, the ensuing struggle involved multiple uses of a stun device. It was only after these repeated attempts that Hoang was restrained. Court records indicate that Hoang exhibited continued aggression until a paramedic with Falck, a private company, administered midazolam. Following the injection, Hoang's condition rapidly deteriorated, ultimately resulting in his being declared brain dead at Eden Medical Center.
Despite the growing concerns and debate surrounding the use of midazolam in policing contexts, Hayward police have kept their silence on the death. A statement from Chief Bryan Matthews acknowledges the ongoing multipronged investigations by the Hayward Police Department's Criminal Investigations Bureau, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, and an outside consulting firm. Yet, details about the incident, including the significant medical intervention that preceded Hoang's death, were omitted from the public discourse, leaving a void filled by confusion and the thirst for answers from the community, as per the Hayward Police Department.
Hoang, who was suspected to be under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of his altercation with police, according to authorities, succumbed to unforeseen complications after the midazolam administration. This same drug had been the focus of an Associated Press investigation that found notable instances of death after its use in custody-related situations. Representatives from Falck, the ambulance company, remained silent on the matter, and the involved Hayward firefighters and ambulance employees declined to converse with homicide investigators regarding the incident. Hoang's official cause of death is withheld pending the ongoing investigations, with authorities keeping it under wraps, leading to a delay in the coroner's release of information.
