positional asphyxia
Compression prevents breathing
Positional asphyxia is death or injury from being unable to breathe due to body position.
It typically occurs when someone is restrained face-down or compressed in a way that prevents the chest from expanding.
The term appears frequently in cases involving police restraint, infant deaths in unsafe sleeping positions, or intoxicated people who collapse in positions that obstruct breathing: The coroner ruled the death positional asphyxia.
Forcing blood through pressure
- airway obstructionBlocked respiratory passage
- constrictionTightening or narrowing action
- smotheringDepriving of air
- entrapmentDefense against induced criminality
immobilization · chokehold · hypoxia · anoxia · oxygen deprivation · asphyxiant
Upholding legal codes
- detentionTemporary official holding
- arrestSeize by law
- takedownForced grounding maneuver
- bookingAdvance arrangement secured
compliance hold · duty of care · welfare check · medical emergency · liability · excessive force · civil rights · wrongful death
Moving to new spot
- trainingDeveloping abilities through practice
- policy reformAmending governmental regulations
- medical interventionClinical action treating illness
- vital signsMeasurable life indicators
supervision · time limits · risk factors · obesity · intoxication · cardiac stress · de-escalation · crisis intervention
chest compression
Forcing blood through pressure
- airway obstructionBlocked respiratory passage
- constrictionTightening or narrowing action
- smotheringDepriving of air
entrapment · immobilization · chokehold · hypoxia · anoxia · oxygen deprivation · asphyxiant
law enforcement
Upholding legal codes
booking · compliance hold · duty of care · welfare check · medical emergency · liability · excessive force · civil rights · wrongful death
repositioning
Moving to new spot
- trainingDeveloping abilities through practice
- policy reformAmending governmental regulations
- medical interventionClinical action treating illness
vital signs · supervision · time limits · risk factors · obesity · intoxication · cardiac stress · de-escalation · crisis intervention · first responders
- asphyxiationsuffocation, suffocate, smother, smothering, strangulation
- Police Forcedeadly force, excessive force, lethal force, reasonable force, less lethal
positional asphyxiastrangulation
Death by neck compression
choking · smothering · carbon monoxide poisoning · drowning · hanging
position, composition, disposition, positions, imposition, exposition, positioned, decomposition, reposition