A nurse refused to provide a suspect with aid when he was taken to the Alpharetta jail while “unconscious” and “possibly overdosing,” according to an Alpharetta police report.
Wayman Keller, 27, was pulled over in Sandy Springs on a suspicious-person call and was taken to the jail. Officer C.J. Needham noticed Keller was unresponsive and thought he might have been overdosing after he found a crack pipe on him.
Needham asked jail staff for their help, but the nurse said Keller needed to go to the hospital “and went back inside without rendering aid,” according to the police report. He then called Alpharetta police for assistance and Keller was given a sternum rub to check for a reaction.
When that didn’t work, Alpharetta officer R.J. Rodriguez gave Keller four milligrams of Narcan and nasal spray into his left nostril. Keller “began having eyelid flutters a few moments later,” the report said.
Police stayed on the scene until Alpharetta fire and an ambulance arrived to treat Keller.
According to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, those arrested who are “very ill” must be treated at a hospital and cleared before being booked into the jail.
“The arresting agency is to retain custody and get the person medical attention as needed,” spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan said in a statement. “The incident in question is under the advisement of the Sandy Springs Police Department and is being reviewed internally by the Sheriff's Office.”
Sandy Springs police initially encountered Keller during a call Wednesday night on the 100 block of Hampton Drive. According to the report, the complainant said two women came to her apartment “and banged on her door demanding money for a photo she sent them.”
Needham said he spotted a blue Dodge Dart in the parking lot, with Keller and the two women inside. But when Keller saw the cop, he sped off into traffic. Needham eventually pulled him over at a Roswell Road QuikTrip.
“He slammed on the brakes and threw the car in park and jumped out of the car,” Needham wrote in his report. “He immediately put his hands in his pockets and his body was bladed as if he was going to run away.”
Keller refused the officer’s commands and reached in his pockets, according to the report. He was then handcuffed and searched. Officers found the crack pipe and a knife on him.
A police dog found a marijuana grinder with residue in it, according to the report. One of the passengers, Shuntavia Foster, claimed the grinder. She was given a disorderly conduct charge.
Needham’s report does not say when he knew Keller overdosed, but does state that he was released to the Rural Metro Ambulance for medical treatment. Keller faces two traffic charges and a disorderly conduct charge.
As of Thursday evening, he was not booked into the jail. It was not known if he is still in the hospital or what his condition is.
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