ATS: Man Dies in San Francisco Police 'Body Wrap'

Julio Armando Ayala died in the custody of the San Francisco police after being restrained with a "body wrap." Police were summoned to the area after getting reports of the man knocking on hotel room doors and screaming. After restraining him, the police say he just stopped breathing. The incident is being investigated.



I'm not familiar with this type of restraint, maybe some members here are. Hopefully this was just a tragic accident, but needs to be investigated thoroughly. Any type of treatment that could lead to death seems quite harsh for what seems like a breach of the peace complaint.

Here you go:

The Wrap
THE WRAP, is the ultimate immobilization system. THE WRAP can greatly reduce injuries, positional asphyxia, and incustody death, while attempting to control a violent subject, allowing medical treatment while restrained.

Looks a bit restraining to me

My guess: He was mouthing off at the cops and they got a little over-zealous on the tightening of the straps.

Either that or he was an asthmatic.

"The Wrap"

Reduces "positional asphyxia"? Well obviously not

There has to be more to this story then what they have stated. He must have had some kind of health problem that attributed to his death.

The wrap itself does not look all tha bad in the chest area, but that is just MHO.

He was probably high or intoxicated.

It will be interesting to hear the results that come back. Drugs in the system or asthma may be the culprit here. Regardless, it seems a terrible thing that they can't just cuff him and throw him in the back of the car. Just use zip ties around the ankles.

just cuff him and throw him in the back of the car. Just use zip ties around the ankles.

Suspects have died of asphyxiation from this method of restraint as well, when placed face down on thir chests. Seems the poor police can't do anything right. People are still dying from tasers and pepper bullets. Now they're dying from "The Wrap". I can just see the next headlines: "Suspect Dies From Police Nerf Gun Wounds". Maybe they should just go back to shooting people.

Originally posted by wecomeinpeace
Suspects have died of asphyxiation from this method of restraint as well, when placed face down on thir chests. Seems the poor police can't do anything right. People are still dying from tasers and pepper bullets. Now they're dying from "The Wrap". I can just see the next headlines: "Suspect Dies From Police Nerf Gun Wounds". Maybe they should just go back to shooting people.

Ok so what do you suggest? Perhaps the PD's would love to hear your take on things.

Drugs in the system or asthma may be the culprit here.

The suspect's behavior would certainly suggest this, eh? Either that or he was simply bonkers....

Ok so what do you suggest? Perhaps the PD's would love to hear your take on things.

A tranq dart or needle stick?

Originally posted by wecomeinpeace

Suspects have died of asphyxiation from this method of restraint as well, when placed face down on thir chests. Seems the poor police can't do anything right. People are still dying from tasers and pepper bullets. Now they're dying from "The Wrap". I can just see the next headlines: "Suspect Dies From Police Nerf Gun Wounds". Maybe they should just go back to shooting people.

Yeah i recently watched a programe exploring police methods in american prisons, and there were two cases of people dieing because of this method of restraint.

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They should not be using anything that constricts/restricts the torso.
Chaining/tieing limbs to body are probably ok as long as there are no constricting body wrapping straps.

Putting a child face down when sleeping greatly increase the chance of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. People in an agitated state likewise would almost certainly be better off being placed on their back, not stomach.

Isn't it expected that people causing a disturbance often have irregular breathing and heart rythyms? [are in an anxious agitated state]

Once you have them secured, placement and treatment should be thoughtful and humane.

Futilely wishing for intelligent, hypercapable police tactics and actions.
Certain i will be disapointed again.

Is there anyone anywhere who thinks about and anticipates the incidents Police are likely to encounter and the best/least-destructive and yet practical ways of dealing with them?

You always want to Police to be the people you can depend on in a crunch. Brilliantly trained Saints in Blue. Not sure were even coming close to that presently.
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If they had the guy face down it is negligent homicide. I am a little sick of when a cop screws up being told that he meant well. And at the same time knowing damn well if a citizen did the same thing and got someone killed they would be tried and convicted of manslaughter.

Originally posted by Linux

Originally posted by wecomeinpeace
Suspects have died of asphyxiation from this method of restraint as well, when placed face down on their chests. Seems the poor police can't do anything right. People are still dying from tasers and pepper bullets. Now they're dying from "The Wrap". I can just see the next headlines: "Suspect Dies From Police Nerf Gun Wounds". Maybe they should just go back to shooting people.

Ok so what do you suggest? Perhaps the PD's would love to hear your take on things.

Linux, you misread the tone of my post. It was not meant to be sarcastic, but I can see how it could be interpreted either way due to the wording I used. I use the word "poor" to mean "deserving of sympathy", not "pathetic" or "incompetent". I used the statement "perhaps they should just go back to shooting people" to illustrate that the police are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

Police are admirably using non-lethal weapons and methods of restraint, and I strongly support this when such action is justified. But unfortunately public and media attention seems to be focused on the few unfortunate accidents, rather than the lives saved by these techniques.

If you're interested in my views on on police, check my post here.

So...if not The Wrap, what should they use? Kind words? Beligerent suspects can get hurt VERY badly by cops if they resist beyond reason. Officers will ensure their safety - if that means hauling out an asp and doing a suspect some serious damage, so be it. Even tazers can only do so much, and you can't keep a suspect tied to it forever. I believe I posted a link in the 'Welcome Home, marine' story. I'll break it down, and repost it.

An officer pulls over a suspect who is DUI. The suspect refuses a breatholizer test, actively resists arrest, and starts heading back to his pickup to drive off (and potentially kill himself or someone else). The officer goes for the tazer, gives him a warning, and fries him good. The suspect then tries TWICE to assault the officer, once to escape, and makes oen attempt to actively resist after beign tazed repeatedly.

Tazing video- WARNING: abrasive language!

Now, the tazer WILL work on people cracked out of their minds, but not very well. It has limited power, and loses some of the effectiveness when a suspect can't feel pain. It's a short term solution to pacify suspects, but for a violent, struggling offender you need something like The Wrap. Really, there's not much of a better alternative.

DE