Woman dies after being 'restrained' by police

it took 3 keystones to restrain 1 woman?! sounds like manslaughter.

I think this is what in some countries is termed as "involuntary manslaughter". But I'd bet my bottom dollar no-one does time for this.

Sitting on her for 20 minutes seems a bit too much, especially as many cops are overweight to begin with. Surely they could have put her into a patrol car seeing as she was already handcuffed. Poor kids.

seems to me the woman is on drugs and died

Penfold- Patrol car! J cops only get bicycles, too late now but the coma position is probably the best.

40-year-old woman had become violent and uncontrollable, TBS reported Thursday. Police arrived at the property to find the woman sitting by the front door, shouting and throwing toys.

Why was she throwing toys? Was she re tarded or something?

@mikihouse - seems to me the woman is on drugs and died

On drugs? She died from lack of oxygen to the brain because the brainless Japanese cop was sitting on her and she couldn't breath! She was just another stressed out Japanese that lost the plot and now she has lost her life. Nice work by the stupid J-Flops!

It could have been drugs, or it also could have been mental illness - of which Japanese police have limited training with managing.

I want to know the cause of death.

The woman probably died from internal injuries and excessive abdominal compression. Sitting on her for any period of time would have caused injury. A pretty stupid cop.

Haven't they heard of "cuff and stuff"? If they had her handcuffed (I would assume with her hands behind her) and then sat on her with the full body weight of your average j-stone, it would be fatal after a few minutes of restricted breathing. The j-stone who sat on her should be charged with murder.

it took 3 keystones to restrain 1 woman?! sounds like manslaughter.

It's obviously a Training issue in this case. Either they're firing warning shots into the air (which no civilized police departments in the industrialized world have done since the the mid-1950's) or they're flat out failing to do their jobs, or highly negligent in the performance of their duties... Training, Training and more Training.... Carrying Firearms is completely out of the question. These JCops need learn basic Police tactics and procedures.

If all they know how to do is stop kids of obasan's on Bicycles, then they need to change their name and start calling themselves something else entirely...

I seriously hope cops are not trained like this, there needs to be an investigation!

Are we all really surprised at this story? If you are, just stay tuned for more like these to come.

Hasn't there been similar incidents in the past?

Man, thats so sad for the kids.

paulinusaNov. 16, 2012 - 09:48AM JST

Hasn't there been similar incidents in the past?

Far worse incident in Narita where they literally beat a helpless man to death during "questioning". Just like in that case these cops will be promoted and all investigations dropped.

Causes of death could have been asphyxiation, which when combined with drugs can hide certain effects of asphyxiation until it's too late. Even if such drugs are found in her system, the cops never had an excuse to sit on her for 20 min. Simply cuffing her hands and feet and throwing her in the back of the cop car should have been good enough, no reason to send her off to the station even.

Again without knowing all the facts we don't know what happened. Of course some folks here watch too much movies so they think everything police officers can do just takes one guy, never been a cop or been on the streets in the real world. Lets wait for all the facts. Who knows this lady could of been some meth addict or on pcp.

mikihouse: I think you might have had a bit too much air freshener yourself?

It is sad though that she died. This news just proved another incompetentency in police training to subdue or control situation like this. Tsk...tsk...

I have been here long enough and seen enough to assure you this is not just another isolated incident. This is under the influence of the wide and broad culture that an Individual who causes a Disturbance in the society needs to be Punished, Humiliated and has very limited Rights. A collectivist society with very limited care about individuals who do not observe its rules, releases a gang of mad dogs, what this policemen represent. Sad for humanity, very sad ...

Give me a break... Shouting and throwing toys is violent and uncontrollable? Seems the J-cops escalated the problem not defused it. Were there any female J-cops there? Seems this kind of thing happens way to much in the world. Probably there needs to be a better way to restrain people. Drugs, yeah, right! More likely that she was just mad about something, having a medical event, or something extreme life event like the death of someone close.

'40 year old woman had become violent and uncontrollable"

If she is sitting by the front door shouting and throwing toys her action does not fit the above description of a violent and uncontrollable. Unless there are other actions of the woman not reveaedl then the action of the police need to be questioned and disciplined. This could be a case of manslaughter.

Sit on her, 20 min ? No ambulance ? WTF.... ?

has anyone ever seen an oba-chan rush for an empty seat on the train? you tell me how many people it would take to stop her. so three cops trying to restrain this oba-chan seems like sufficient force to me.

Keystones are just beyond incompetence!

This police stupidity is another example of good J-bullying....................

Damn this country is cold at times

The Police are abusing their power, but this example of a woman getting killed over some screaming and throwing toys is going to make people think twice about what they throw around, I bet next time someone will throw a knife at the cops so they dont sit on them. I have restrained people in my life including women, never had to sit on them especially if hands are handcuffed from behind and legs restrained. Obviously they could have figured out that maybe a medical condition could have been the cause of her hysteria and she was in danger. Of course she was a terrible criminal for throwing the poor toys which was more important for the Cops than preventing a death.

No sure why Miki is getting all those thumbs down. It sounds like the woman was on something. Someone called the cops, they show up and she's STILL freaking out? What would you like the cops to do? Excuse me Ms. could you settle down please? For all you guys know she was endangering the lives of others - perhaps kids since she was throwing toys around.

The cause of death hasn't been released so no idea why so many of you are jumping to conclusions and saying she sufficed. Perhaps an overdose to whatever she may have taken? Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps... various things that could have caused her death. I'm not a fan of the cops here but I'm certainly not going to assume it was their fault until we know more info.

why the hell would u sit on someone?! i mean omg cops. same thing happens here in vancity. cops morons!

Far worse incident in Narita where they literally beat a helpless man to death during "questioning".

You mean the illegal who was kicking and fighting when he was retrained? Nice embellishment on the real story.

Back on topic please.

tmarieNov. 16, 2012 - 01:52PM JST

No sure why Miki is getting all those thumbs down. It sounds like the woman was on something. Someone called the cops, they show up and she's STILL freaking out? What would you like the cops to do?

Use rational judgement. Unless the woman was being a danger to herself or others (i.e. throwing knives instead of toys), they should have simply waited her out. Usually cops make people more nervous, so it was probably less "still freaking out" and more "started freaking out".

The cause of death hasn't been released so no idea why so many of you are jumping to conclusions and saying she sufficed.

She what? Certainly not sufficed when something was clearly missing. Suffocated on the other hand, quite possible. There are many accounts of people being asphyxiated from weight, and the article clearly said "sat on", indicating localized pressure around her midsection, rather than "straddled" which would be mainly shoulders and legs (which is all that's needed to pin someone). The duration also is important, as your muscles tire after just a few minutes. Could be made worse if the person was on certain drugs.

Rest in Peace to the poor lady. Almost certainly she had some mental issues. I just hope - but doubt - these officers are held to account before an enquiry. Seems like thuggish behaviour by 3 dropkicks on an unarmed woman.

Osaka?? Police actually trying to do their job?? Something is wrong with this news. Anyway, very strange to sit on a woman for 20 freakin minutes, lets see what Hashimoto has to say. And RIP Osaka woman

They restrained her and killed her. That's plain English. Animals are often restrained better. These cops need retraining.

Patrick SmashNov. 16, 2012 - 03:19PM JST

you can restrain and immobilize someone completely in a mili-second with a simple armlock. You don't even need to straddle anything.

Yup, with even amateur training you can immobilize someone under your own weight with absolutely no risk of serious injury (aside from sprains and dislocations if done excessively). I'm simply saying that even if they were untrained they could have restrained her without possible harm simply with weight if they didn't decide to sit on her like lazy bums.

Sadly, the department will pin all the blame on the woman and not change a single thing. That is the real crime here (since you can't expect the department to press charges even if the doctors state that it's 100% their preventable fault).

Unless the woman was being a danger to herself or others (i.e. throwing knives instead of toys)

Oh dear, projectile is projectile and toys can hurt. Wait it out? So if she died from an OD while the cops waited it out you'd all be happy right? Certainly wouldn't blame the cops, right? Insane. Do any of you folks have any idea how much damage someone freaking out can cause? You have no idea the situation and are instead, as usual, looking to blame the cops. God help you if you ever need help from one.

The way that I see it, these idiot J-cops must have done something that they were not supposed to do to cause her death. Most cops in Japan don't really know how to be real cops at all. They all lack the common seance that is needed to do their jobs correctly.

Stupid cops all day everyday you know. But you'll get these loser type of cops everywhere who can't do their job properly with some ethics and morals. I find it hard to believe these 3 had a hard time retraining her, she was already handcuffed. Idiot had to sit on her that way. manslaughter but of course they'll get away with it. That's just how it goes.

No idea why she was acting like that, was it she lost control of her mind from stress, or maybe drugs, mental problems, drunk?? - whatever. We are nobody to be the judge on that.

What it is important to note here is that she was very unfortunate that 3 idiotic loser cops came around, it could have been much better, more understanding and ethical cops and this would not even be a news story. She was just unfortunate that 3 morons were on her case. RIP lady

Death by cop, Japanese style?

Looks like the J-cops can be very tough when restraining a crazy housewife, I have never heard of e.g. a gangster dying because of tough restraining by Japanese police... wonder why.

"Do any of you folks have any idea how much damage someone freaking out can cause?": Exactly, Rodney King for example (and yes, I know he was on drugs).

tmarieNov. 16, 2012 - 04:02PM JST

Oh dear, projectile is projectile and toys can hurt.

A person can only throw so far. From the articles around, this wasn't exactly a discus thrower, so just stepping back a few feet will keep you safe from teddy bears.

Wait it out? So if she died from an OD while the cops waited it out you'd all be happy right?

The number one drug in Japan is amphetamines (meth and others), which have a very low, nearly unreported overdose rate. Her actions were not indicative of an opioid overdose. While her activities could be suggestive of amphetamines, they could just as likely be stress or a panic attack.

Even if the underlying cause of death is attributed to drugs, you will see that the cop's actions were the direct cause of death, unless this was some incredible coincidence like a stroke (very, very slim though, you're more likely to win 20 million yen in the lotto)

Certainly wouldn't blame the cops, right?

The cops are still to blame then, but incompetence rather than negligent actions. If the woman was sweating and clearly in pain, they could have called for medical assistance. One common method of death is heart attack, and the cops should be fully trained in CPR and AED (as well as carry an AED with them in all cop cars). Not knowing a person has a drug overdose is as bad as not knowing a heart attack when you see it. While a normal person wouldn't know, cops should be expected to serve as first responders and be well trained in first aid, especially with certain extras like drug interactions and injuries.

A 40 year old Japanese woman and three trained male policemen?

Maybe they should have called for backup..

This kind of asphyxiation, injury, death from this kind of restraining is really pretty basic common knowledge for being involved in that kind of work/ action. (ie not for average folk, maybe but cops, martial arts, etc.)

To not know and do it is criminal if a cop. To know and do it anyway is even more so, of course.

Jail time- a real worry for a cop caught wrongdoing in the US, a laugh here. Will they even be fired??? Or there even be an investigation? And how about policy changes and re-education so it doesn't happen again?

It's a total power thing and control and humiliation. Really childish policing and restraining. Not usually necessary for real restraint, certainly not once cuffs are on, unless she was like on PCP or something.

Easy fix for this type is situation-- TASER

Jimmy, folks have been known to die from tasers.

Bas, perhaps you should do a search on people freaking out on drugs. Heck, just do a search on folks freaking out and tell me they are easy to restrain.

And surprise, surprise.... I log in to see another story of the J-police at their finest. A full grown man sat on this woman's BACK for more than 20 minutes and people are demanding to know how she died? As for the police 'launching an investigation' I wonder how long it's going to to take for them to figure out how badly they messed up.

" just stepping back a few feet will keep you safe from teddy bears"

I dunno, an angry woman throwing teddy bears would probably be pretty frightening for many of the cops I've seen here. Many of them would probably retreat and then regroup behind their patrol cars.

"I seriously hope cops are not trained like this, there needs to be an investigation!"

HAHAHAHA...!

Thanks for the laugh.

P.S. You said trained and investigation in the same sentence. The two things that J cops are known to be pros at...wink...wink

tmarieNov. 16, 2012 - 08:32PM JST

folks have been known to die from tasers.

That's why the company that makes them made special recommendations that departments make using tasers follow the same protocol as using firearms.

Heck, just do a search on folks freaking out and tell me they are easy to restrain.

They had her restrained already. The issue was them sitting on her instead of just locking her up in the cop car. But of course you didn't bother reading the article before jumping out to defend cops that clearly went beyond necessary force.

yasukuniNov. 16, 2012 - 09:18PM JST

I dunno, an angry woman throwing teddy bears would probably be pretty frightening for many of the cops I've seen here. Many of them would probably retreat and then regroup behind their patrol cars.

That would have been a better choice than killing her, unless they decided to consider flying teddy bears dangerous and firearm use was authorized.

any trained police force in the world knows how to control a person with out hurting, the self defense training provides all the methods and techniques, even in the wrestling match i have not seen that a wrestler have setting on the back of the other wrestler for 20 minutes too long regardless of the causes of her death.

the people who unfortunately supported the Japanese police in the above conversation, please let some body to set on your back just for 5 minutes while both of your hands should be on the back side, just think and feel the pain yourself

20 mins is too long to have someone in that position with someone sitting on top of them. They should have slapped some restraints on her arms and legs and put her in the backseat of their vehicle (assuming that it was built for such a thing).

@Ali Khan no there is no such thing as subduing someone whose acting violently without hurting/harming them. Things like rubber bullets, bean bag guns, pepper spray, tear gas, tasers, and plain old submission hold techniques etc... yes there are plenty of non-lethal methods in use to try and subdue a suspect.

Bas, you think restraining means automatic compliance?! Oh dear.

I'm not going to comment on the number of cops it took to subdue her. Certain drugs (like PCP) will cause people to go out of control and ignore pain that most of us would cause us to stop.

What I WILL comment on is why police felt it necessary to sit on her for 20 minutes AFTER handcuffing her. What the heck were they DOING (besides sitting on her) for those 20 minutes? Having a smoke break?

MR HonestDictator,, she was just throwing toys do you think it is a violent and a dangerous act, would you like to use rubber bullets, bean bag guns, pepper spray, tear gas, tasers or call for helicopter or special forces against such a person. you are not allowed to use force in such situation.

her hand was already tight with handcuff and that was enough

They restrained her and killed her. That's plain English. Animals are often restrained better. These cops need retraining.

Retraining, my eye! They should be dishonourably discharged, tried for manslaughter and jailed!

@ Tim_FoxNov. 16, 2012 - 08:27AM JST

"It could have been drugs, or it also could have been mental illness - of which Japanese police have limited training with managing."

I agreed with you.... until I actually understood the double meaning. So now I want to make sure:

Is your comment about the woman? Or the policemen?

Is the ME going to do a toxicology report to find out what she was on. Maybe bath salts?

tmarieNov. 16, 2012 - 11:50PM JST

you think restraining means automatic compliance?! Oh dear.

You think cops need compliance? Oh dear indeed. Cops only need her out of the way, she can kick and scream all she want IN THE BACK OF THE COP CAR. Those things are built for detention, and while not as strong as a crown victoria, it's more than enough.

FadamorNov. 16, 2012 - 11:55PM JST

I'm not going to comment on the number of cops it took to subdue her. Certain drugs (like PCP) will cause people to go out of control and ignore pain that most of us would cause us to stop.

They said three cops total (two initially), and they managed to take her down and cuff her. I don't think anyone is complaining of excessive force in the takedown, and nothing is said in the article to that effect either.

What I WILL comment on is why police felt it necessary to sit on her for 20 minutes AFTER handcuffing her. What the heck were they DOING (besides sitting on her) for those 20 minutes?

Killing her apparently, there's no excuse for that. Cops are not mandated to have a peaceful arrest, that's just movie garbage. They are only supposed to arrest and ensure the person is not a danger to others or serious danger to themselves. Once you cuff someone, they aren't going to be a huge danger no matter how coked up they are. If they needed to they could call in a van and extra guys.

Sitting on the woman's back for 20mins may not be the course of the death.The woman may be on drugs or have an internal sickness.But the officer who sat on top of a woman for 20mins fail to know that women are delicate object.After the investigation,and if the woman died because of the sitting,the officer will face the law.****

Hogtie for people who won't keep still. It's basically harmless and nobody can move in that position. Sitting on somebody's back is a new low in the annals of stupidity.

I've never known J-cops being this aggressive. Usually they allow the offender to argue with them for an hour or so. This was more American cop style - kiss the ground and get handcuffed. I truly believe she must have been on drugs of some sort. Sad for the kids is right.

Tom DeMickeNov. 17, 2012 - 04:06PM JST

I've never known J-cops being this aggressive. Usually they allow the offender to argue with them for an hour or so.

Almost all the issues you hear about are either in Osaka or involving anti-gaijin departments. Most cops are good, hard working folks that deal more with flashers and lost items and deal less with killing people.

Cover up...police brutality

I will be very surprised if any of them receive any jail time. A reprimand maybe, that's about it. Believe me when I say that this kind of inappropriate police behavior is not limited to Japan. I lived in the Seattle area for five years where on many occasions the police reacted with excessive force for the situation at hand. In most of the cases the "good old boy network" stepped in to exonerate the officers involved. A few cases ended up in dismissal from the police force, but never was there any jail time handed out.

Sitting on her for 20 minutes seems a bit too much, especially as many cops are overweight to begin with. Surely they could have put her into a patrol car seeing as she was already handcuffed. Poor kids.

Man, thats so sad for the kids.

I'm sorry, where does it say ANYTHING about kids, especially that the woman has kids???????????? Throwing toys = having kids?

Anger management was out the question, what could she have been under the influence of in Japan?

Incompetent police work. Three officers cannot hold one average housewife. Horrible display of police restraint training. That officer should be reprimanded and released of his profession for being unprofessional concerning his duties. She was already in cuffs, that position is easy to pinch nerves in the shoulders when hands are raised upwards. No way did they need to sit on her, sounds like he was "copping" a feel !

It's called PRA, positional restraint asphyxia, if you are in law enforcement/ security it is something you should be aware of. They really should have cuffed her and put her in the back of a car (whilst keeping her under observation of course) while they worked out what was going on.. Don't have the full facts but there's my two cents