Drunk Woman Dies After Police Insert Towel in Mouth to Prevent Self-Harm... Police and Firefighters Acquitted

Unanimous Not Guilty Verdict by Jury in Public Trial
"Actions Should Be Seen as Methods to Prevent Sudden Self-Harm"

Police officers and firefighters, who were indicted after a woman in her 40s died while they attempted to prevent her from biting her own tongue in a drunken state, have been acquitted in a public jury trial.

According to Yonhap News on September 3, the Changwon District Court, Criminal Division 4 (Presiding Judge Oh Dae-seok), acquitted two police officers and two firefighters who had been put on trial for occupational negligence resulting in death.

Changwon District Court, Gyeongnam.

The two police officers had arrested a 41-year-old intoxicated woman, Ms. A, for obstructing the performance of official duties at around 2:08 a.m. on August 26, 2022, on a street in Geoje, Gyeongnam. When Ms. A attempted to inflict self-harm by biting her tongue, the officers repeatedly inserted a towel into her mouth to prevent her from doing so, and were later put on trial for causing her death. Two firefighters, who were 119 emergency rescuers, were charged for failing to take appropriate action, as they relied on police instructions that "Ms. A may attempt self-harm" and did not remove the towel from her mouth after arriving at the scene at the request of the police for emergency assistance.

An investigation found that at 1:58 a.m. the same day, the two police officers responded to a report that Ms. A was lying on the street and urged her to return home. However, Ms. A refused and became violent, assaulting the two officers, and was arrested on the spot. Although Ms. A's wrists were handcuffed, she strongly resisted and demanded her handcuffs be removed, which was not accepted. She then stated, "Then I have no other choice but to bite my tongue and die," and immediately attempted to inflict self-harm by biting her tongue. In an effort to prevent this, the officers repeatedly pushed a towel into Ms. A's mouth.

The two firefighters arrived at the scene and removed the towel from Ms. A's mouth from the moment it was presumed that she had gone into cardiac arrest, then performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other emergency procedures. However, Ms. A died of suffocation caused by airway obstruction at a hospital in Busan on September 17, 2022.

The seven jurors unanimously returned a verdict of not guilty for both the police officers and the firefighters. Referring to the jury verdict, the presiding judge stated, "It appears the police officers chose to insert a towel into the victim's mouth as a means to promptly and effectively prevent sudden self-harming actions by a violently resisting individual." He continued, "It seems the firefighters checked Ms. A's pulse and sought alternatives that could be placed in her mouth instead of the towel. It is hard to conclude that they violated their duty of care." The judge also added, "It is the consensus of medical professionals that it would have been difficult to remove the towel immediately on the scene."

In rendering the not-guilty verdict, the court stated, "Based solely on the evidence submitted by the prosecution, it cannot be established that the defendants failed to take necessary measures to prevent the risk of suffocation, or that they should have foreseen such a risk."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.