BOULDER — A New York man remains in critical condition after he was found extremely intoxicated on a Boulder street and became unconscious and unresponsive while being transported to a detoxification center, according to a release from the Boulder County Sheriff's Office.
In the early morning hours of Sept. 9, deputies from the sheriff's office responded to the area of 9th Street and Canyon Boulevard to assist the Boulder Police Department with an intoxicated person.
The sheriff's office said the 23-year-old New York man displayed extreme signs of intoxication and was verbally belligerent with Boulder officers and sheriff's deputies.
He was transported in a marked sheriff's jail transport van to Boulder's Addiction Recovery Center, which is located in the same complex as the Boulder County Jail, the sheriff's office said.
When the two deputies went to remove the man from the van, they found him unconscious and unresponsive, the release said. When they determined he was not breathing and they could not locate a pulse they began CPR.
The man was revived at the scene and then transported in critical condition to Boulder Community's Foothills Hospital. He was later transferred to a Denver-area hospital for additional treatment. As of Tuesday evening, he remained unconscious and in critical condition.
An investigation has been launched to determine what may have caused the man to lose consciousness and enter respiratory and cardiac arrest while in-custody during the transport. Both of the involved deputies have indicated that no force was used during the transport, the sheriff's office said.
Sheriff Pelle requested the Boulder County Investigation Team (BCIT), a team of multi-jurisdictional investigators, conduct the investigation. It is being led by the Longmont Police Department.
The two transport deputies are not being publicly identified, although both have at least a decade of experience with the sheriff's office. One deputy is a 10-year veteran, and the other is a 17-year veteran.
