Excelsior Springs Police Department Cleared of Wrongdoing in Detainee’s Death

According to a press release issued this afternoon, the Clay County Investigative Squad has concluded its investigation into the May 8 in-custody death of 21-year-old Benjamin E. Chase at the Excelsior Springs Police Department. The investigation found no crime occurred. An autopsy and toxicology report determined Chase’s cause of death was methamphetamine intoxication. The Clay County Investigative Squad for this case was led by two members of the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, it also included investigators from three other Clay County law enforcement agencies.

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai website reports that, “methamphetamine overdose may be acute (sudden) or chronic (long-term).” An acute methamphetamine overdose occurs when someone takes the drug and has nearly immediate side effects which can be life-threatening. Chronic methamphetamine overdose refers to the health effects of methamphetamine on someone who uses the drug on a regular basis. The research hospital website reports that methamphetamine overdose can induce deadly side effects including, agitation, chest pain, coma or unresponsiveness, heart attack, irregular or stopped heartbeat, difficulty breathing, very high body temperature, kidney damage and possibly kidney failure, paranoia, seizures, severe stomach pain, and stroke.

Clay County officials said the investigation determined Excelsior Springs Police officers arrested Chase at about 8:50 p.m. May 7, 2022, after a brief foot chase. During the pursuit, Chase refused to comply with officers’ commands and charged at the officers. An officer deployed a Taser to immobilize Chase. According to the investigators, one of the Taser probes struck Chase’s chest, and the other reportedly attached to his clothing. He then complied with officers, who requested an ambulance crew to examine him. Chase refused further treatment, and officers transported him to the jail at the Excelsior Springs Police Department, where he was placed on a 48-hour hold.

ESPD staff checked on him throughout the night and the next day and fed him with no issues. They found him unresponsive in his cell at 3:01 p.m. on May 8 and called an ambulance. Paramedics pronounced Chase dead at the scene.

Clay County Sheriff’s Office investigators interviewed everyone involved in the incident and reviewed videos, EMS reports, autopsy photos and reports, and toxicology reports to determine no crime occurred in Chase’s death. As stated in the autopsy report, Chase’s cause of death was methamphetamine intoxication, and his manner of death was ruled an accident.

Detectives shared the investigation’s findings with the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office, which will not be filing any charges. According to Excelsior Springs Police Chief, Gregory Dull this is the only known occurrence of an in-custody inmate or detainee death in the history of the Excelsior Springs Police Department.

See our previous report on this incident here.