A patient at MedStar Washington Hospital Center died last week after a struggle with two security guards, officials said Monday.
The patient, a man whose name was not released, died Thursday after an altercation outside the complex on Tuesday.
The patient left the hospital without having been formally discharged on Tuesday evening, said Dr. Arthur St. André, the clinical director for Surgical Critical Care Services.
The man was spotted at nearby MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital and was being escorted back to the hospital's main entrance when he encountered two security guards from MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
The patient "became non-compliant and resisted," according to a police report, and was pulled to the ground.
The patient became distressed and the nurse escorting the patient back to the hospital resuscitated him, St. André said.
St. André said resuscitation is a general medical term used to describe the correction of a patient's physical state. He would not say whether CPR was used on the patient.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
The patient died Thursday, and the officers have been placed on paid, administrative leave. The Metropolitan Police Department is leading the investigation, and the hospital is conducing its own internal investigation.
"We're examining the entire event to see what we could have done better," St. André said.
The hospital would not say what sparked the clash and did not identify the security guards. The officers are employees of the hospital.
“Throughout the week, we have been in close communication with the patient’s family during this difficult time," the hospital said in a statement released Sunday. "We are also providing support to our own associates as needed. Our highest priority is the care and safety of every patient who comes to us for care, and we are deeply concerned for the family.”
No charges have been filed in the incident. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the patient's cause of death.
Health care lawyer Patrick Malone said it's possible the patient's rights were violated.
"Hospitals are not prisons, and you cannot be held against your will or restrained," he said. Doctors do have the right to hold people deemed to pose an immediate danger to themselves or others, Malone said.
St. André declined to speak about why the patient was restrained and said his family had requested privacy.
