Left: James Foster Jr. (Meyer Brothers Funeral Homes); Right: Deanna Le Mere (North Sioux City Fire Department/Instagram).
An Iowa father of two died after being “held down and injected” with the wrong medication by a paramedic who “knew that he needed immediate attention to survive” but informed no one and “took no action,” according to a lawsuit filed by the man’s family.
“You’re not gonna die, you’re fine,” said EMT Deanna LaMere to James Foster Jr., 26, of Sioux City, after he began gasping for air and telling her, “I can’t breathe,” following the alleged medication error, according to his family’s complaint.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, LaMere is accused of giving Foster a “lethal dose” of rocuronium instead of ketamine after responding to a report of a man lying in the street. Rocuronium is a “dangerous paralytic agent” that induces muscle paralysis, according to the complaint and the Journal of Emergency Medical Services. LaMere is facing an involuntary manslaughter charge for Foster’s death and has pleaded not guilty.
Foster’s family paints a chilling timeline of what allegedly occurred that day — Aug. 18, 2023 — in their lawsuit, noting how LaMere even went so far as to tell Foster “night night” after he passed out from the rocuronium, per the complaint. They are suing the City of Sioux City, LaMere and local officials.
LaMere and Sioux City police arrived just before 4 a.m. on Aug. 18, 2023, according to the complaint. Foster’s family says he told them he suffered an arm injury. LaMere and other first responders allegedly reported that Foster’s behavior warranted chemical restraint, so they tried administering the ketamine.
“All right … it should be kicking in like now,” LaMere allegedly told Foster. After a few moments, Foster “immediately” began to struggle to breathe, “audibly gasping for air” and asking “Am I gonna die?,” according to his family.
“Mr. Foster began crying … and repeatedly stating the unfortunately all too familiar refrain that he couldn’t breathe,” his family’s complaint alleges. “Defendant LaMere realized that she had given the incorrect and life-threatening medication rocuronium, but she did not notify anyone nor did she take any action to protect his airway and/or intubate him before he became paralyzed and unable to breathe.”
Foster’s family says his breathing “deteriorated almost immediately” and he began to “desperately gasp and wheeze for air, as clearly audible and visible on body cam footage,” according to the complaint. LaMere and officers on scene allegedly ignored what was going on and instead subdued Foster, who was now chemically incapacitated, with handcuffs before strapping him to a gurney.
“Shortly after he was taken from the scene by ambulance, Mr. Foster lost the ability to breathe, due to chemical paralysis, and he went into cardiac arrest with an unprotected airway,” his family alleges. “This arrest would deprive his brain of oxygen and he died days later, after confirmation of brain death, from an anoxic brain injury due to the administration of rocuronium and the defendants’ refusal to address his respiratory distress on-scene.”
Foster’s obituary describes him as an Iowa father who was “so full of life, loved everybody, and was always polite.” It adds that he “loved his girls, Peyton and Lakoda and their mother, Kenzee.”
