Witnesses Allege Misconduct Concerning Recent Student Death
By Staff Report
October 15, 2015 at 7:00 am
**This story will be updated as more information becomes available.**
A previously published Daily Nexus article regarding IVFP’s account of Andres Esteban Sanchez’s death can be found under “UCSB Student Andres Esteban Sanchez Passes Away Sunday Morning.”
Five students spoke during public forum at the Associated Students (A.S.) Senate meeting on Wednesday night to give witness testimonials of the events leading up to the death of second-year pre-biology major Andres “Andy” Esteban Sanchez on Sunday, Oct. 11.
At approximately 4:40 a.m., two Isla Vista Foot Patrol (IVFP) deputies responded to reports of a male subject on the 6700 block of Abrego Road running in the street screaming for help. Upon arrival, deputies were flagged down by a nearby witness who stated the male subject, later identified as UCSB student Andres “Andy” Esteban Sanchez, had a deep laceration on his right arm.
The five students, Areli Ariana, Ashley Baker, Jocelin Hernandez, Alejandra Melgoza and Marvin Ramirez, dialed 911 following an encounter with Sanchez near their residence. According to the students, first responders on the scene mishandled the situation, mistreating the victim and witnesses based on their race.
Santa Barbara City College student Marvin Ramirez said Sanchez ran up to him and Hernandez screaming “help!” while bleeding profusely from his right arm.
“He, like, ran into my arms and I didn’t even have a shirt on, and I felt him and he had a massive cut in his right arm and it was just gushing out blood, and it wasn’t dripping, it was literally flying and it was ridiculous,” Ramirez said. “I knew at the time that it was a matter of time, and we ran inside and tried to get a towel and we tried to take care of him.”
According to Ramirez, Sanchez was restless but was not violent toward the five witnesses.
“He was a little bit out of control due to the adrenaline, so he was running around from one apartment complex to another, but we attempted to stop him. We sat him down several times,” Ramirez said. “Though it seemed like he was violent, he didn’t do anything to us.”
Off-campus senator and second-year Chican@ studies and history of public policy double-major Alejandra Melgoza said she spoke with dispatch and “specifically requested” medical assistance, but was not taken seriously.
“I was the one who called dispatch and dispatch didn’t believe me,” Melgoza said. “When you have anyone who is pleading for help, saying that there is blood gushing out of a wound — when you have someone who is passed out in front of your doorstep with blood gushing out of a wound, I would expect dispatch to hear the screaming in the background.”
Fourth-year comparative literature and psychology double-major Areli Ariana said EMTs and paramedics who responded to the call displayed a lack of urgency.
“They literally acted like it was an inconvenience for them to do their job,” Ariana said. “We were yelling at them, and yes we were frantic, but who wouldn’t be if they were covered in blood.”
According to Ramirez, emergency personnel took a long time to arrive, and police officers and firefighters did not act urgently upon arriving at the scene.
“I was jumping in front of them and just full of blood and telling them to hurry up and they just walked out of the car,” Ramirez said. “When the firefighters got there they didn’t want to get blood on their suit, and I remember Jocelin screaming at them, ‘If I have blood on me, why can’t you get blood on you! Hurry up, we don’t have time!’”
Ariana said responders disregarded her and other witnesses’ attempts to explain the situation, but acknowledged a white male bystander who began speaking to them after police arrived.
“We’re all basically persons of color; there’s no doubt that we’re brown. He just completely bypassed everything we said,” Ariana said. “He didn’t acknowledge our presence — he didn’t recognize us. From the moment we started speaking he ignored us.”
According to Ariana, the deputies who responded treated Sanchez “brutally” without reason.
“While Jocelin and I were huddled over Andy, we were able to hold him down and to calm him down while the police officers came,” Ariana said. “When the police officers came, the first thing they did was to grab a baton and try to hold Andy down.”
Fourth-year film and media studies major Ashley Baker said the police officers involved in Sunday night’s incident were not held accountable for their “brutal” treatment of Sanchez.
“This is the third time in my life that I have witnessed one of my Latino brothers pass away and have it be completely erased the next morning,” Baker said. “Instead of having a thorough investigation they wash everything down. It was like a Hazmat — it was like it never happened.”
According to Ramirez, the officer did not have an emergency kit and approached the scene with a baton in hand.
“One of the other things was that the cop didn’t have an emergency kit, so when they got out they just got out with a baton. What good are you by then?” Ramirez said. “We asked why, and they just said the car did not have it on them. That’s not an excuse because we lost a life, and you don’t know how important that is but that’s a life, a student life.”
Ariana said Sanchez’s death is likely due to first responders’ misconduct.
“This is a fellow student of ours who probably died because of the negligence of the EMTs and the paramedics and the police officers,” Ariana said.
According to Ramirez, Sanchez’s mother was unaware of the situation the next day due to an incomplete police report, in which the witnesses who called emergency services were not included.
“You don’t understand how hard it was,” Ramirez said. “And how hard it was for the mother when we saw her the next day and she had no idea about what happened because they didn’t take a thorough report and they didn’t include us in the report.”
Ariana said IVFP did not have translation services available, which delayed the time it took to notify Sanchez’s family of his death.
“We found out that his family didn’t speak English, so they needed a translator,” Ariana said. “He [the officer] was very insensitive to that and he did not prioritize communicating the sensitive information to Andy’s family.”
Melgoza also said emergency responders should have access to translation, especially to Spanish.
“How many Latino/Latina families are out in Isla Vista?” Melgoza said. “The fact that we don’t have translating services is a disgrace.”
Hernandez said she wants to stress the “racial dynamics and dimensions” of the law enforcement’s failure to address the situation.
“It looks like two cops running in and trying to restrain the individual. And they criminalized the individual because they don’t know how to react,” Hernandez said. “They recoiled at the sight of the wound because they’re not trained, that is not somebody that is trained to ensure our safety.”
According to Ramirez, the police officers did not carry out their responsibility to ensure Sanchez’s well-being.
“This is a student that meant nothing to us, I’m not even getting paid to care,” Ramirez said. “If we have such urgency why don’t they do everything in their power?”
For the IVFP response: “IVFP Responds to Allegations of Misconduct in Sanchez’s Death.”
For the SBC Fire response: http://dailynexus.com/2015-10-16/sbc-fire-responds-to-allegations-of-misconduct-in-sanchezs-death/
The Nexus firmly believes in fair comment and is actively seeking comment from all agencies involved in these allegations.
A version of this story appeared on p. 1 of the Oct. 15, 2015 edition of the Daily Nexus. The title of this article was edited to better reflect the context in which the statements were delivered.
Thank you for writing this and representing this side of the story. Your honesty and transparency is what will make IV a safer place.
If it was honest and transparent it would represent both sides of the story. I guess it could also be transparent if the author outright stated that the facts in this article are unsubstantiated and one-sided. Then it would be honest too.
Andy was my friend, I went to high school with him for 4 years. He was not a violent kid, very smart and proactive. You’re a disgrace.
Whoa! I never said anything about Andy. I don’t know Andy and can’t make any judgments about him. I was ONLY saying the article was not transparent… which has nothing to do with Andy. Check yourself! Maybe invest in some logic classes or something.
Thank you for this article… i never imagined i would have to burry my bestfriend over racist negligence….
Guys, there’s no basis this was race driven. It’s possible the police, EMT’s, and firefighters were all racist and incompetent. It’s possible Andy’s friends are frustrated and saddened by the outcome and want to blame someone.
The people that rescued him weren’t his friends, they didn’t know him. This wasn’t personal for them, read the full article if you’re going to comment.
The term “first respondes” seems a bit inaccurate. Roommates? 5 people calling 911? A little help please! 4:40 am? Its unfortunate that everyone doesn’t take it upon them selves to learn first aid or life saving skills. Google it!
If everyone learned first aid and life saving skills, there’s really no need for an EMT or an emergency response. Everyone would just be taken care of and casually driven to the hospital. They’re employed for a reason, to save lives. Don’t brush it off on the people who were there for his death.
I think you’re confused. People need first aid because First Responders are generally more than a few minutes away. A person can bleed to death in under two minutes. These friends really should have tried to stop the bleeding. Thats why everyone should learn first aid because it is the first step in saving lives.
The article says that some of the people that first found him tried to stop the bleeding. It sounds like it was beyond the abilities of anyone with basic first aid training. Obviously it was a major injury, and according to these people, the EMTs, police officers, and paramedics were not acting with urgency. Of course we were not there and we should hear the side of those that responded, but you can’t just say these random people that didn’t even know him should have known first aid and stopped the bleeding.
if the bystanders had any knowledge of first aid whatsoever they would have known to apply a tourniquet. He may have lost the arm but no his life. I promise you if you turn that sucker hard enough the bleeding WILL stop. By the time emergency services showed it may have been too late.
So people who are not his friend are automatically racist?
Hey,
Its an awesome story.
But only God knows what happened. Everyone stay safe, its a cruel world.
Everyone deserves a chance a to live, but unfortunately only the strong ones in this country survive.
Survival of the fittest.
Charles Darwin & Republicans
They shouldn’t decide who deserves to live or not based on our skin color or ethnicity.
how did he get the cut on the arm?
I want to know how he got the cut. I always hoped I wouldn’t have to bury a best friend and now Andres is gone because of negligence. I love you Andres, watch over us.
He was tripping on acid and punched a window
Because of his own negligence.
I too have witnessed negligence and apathy from first responders in IV. One time, paramedics were practically throwing around a man my friends and I called dispatch for, because they said “back in our day, we would have just had him sleep it off”. The man was unconscious, had a laceration in his head and ended up in the ICU. I also was an RA last year, and nearly every time I called dispatch and then personally dealt with first responders, I was met with rudeness, harsh words and overall disrespect to the injured person as well as myself and… Read more »
Is there any evidence that this story is true or is it another “he said, she said” thing?
To the person asking if the story is true, how ignorant can you be? Obviously it is true when you have four eye witnesses. You think they would like about something like this. The fact that a young man is dead due to the negligence of the police, dispatch and EMT alone is “evidence” enough!
Because 4 people can also lie. That doesn’t automatically mean it’s true.
The fire department that responded is over 50% Hispanic.
Also they were on acid. That takes away from their credibility as well.
Where’s does it say he was on acid?
The article makes it clear that the “witnesses” were yelling and interfering and stressing out so I find it hard to believe they were in the right state of mind. I mean… its a medical situation where it sounds like the only thing they did was call 9-1-1 but they’re complaining that the Deputy didn’t do anything when they couldn’t do anything themselves? Sounds like the guy was also not cooperative… the article makes that very clear. One thing the article does not make clear is answering why this is an issue of racism? It doesn’t matter what the persons… Read more »
It’s so sad to see that they don’t even present the facts that he was tripping on acid and tried breaking into 2 apartments. He smashed through a window and that is how he got a cut on the arm.
The only obvious thing here is that a young man made poor choices and suffered fatal consequences. For you to place blame on those who saved students during the IV shootings and place their lives on line every day is irresponsible.
To those asking how he got cut, he punched through a glass window, it’s in the link of the IVFP’s account above.
Color lives matter! stop police injustice !!!!!!
Let’s hear the police’s side of the story before jumping to conclusions.
Stop please, respect
Although I both respect and love Andy, I do think this report is unfair. They blatantly leave out that he and two of his friends were on acid. This was not because of the color of his skin, this was because they did not know how to react to students on hallucinogenic substances, which is still an error, but not a moral error. Instead of making this situation into a “race problem” let’s make it into a recreational drug problem. Andy was no addict, and he should never be remembered as such, but he did engage in elicit activities from… Read more »
I appreciate the rational reminder to look at all sides and truths about a story. It breaks my heart that a kid I knew died at college, but drugs, darkness, hysteria, antipathy, and blood make a pretty nasty soup. I hope the authorities keep listening, and I hope enough is done to ease some of his family’s grief.
No we should make into a “race problem” because it is. Why is it that white students in IV are taken care of when they are on hallucinogenic substances and alcohol. I have been at countless parties where the authorities have been called and guess what? They show up in about 5 minutes, with their sirens on and with an emergency kit. So yeah it is a race problem.
I call BS on that. Every year white people in IV die because of drugs too. It has nothing to do with race. Its your own attitude that is the problem. Response times have nothing to do with race either. They respond as fast as they can for everyone. At four thirty in the morning after the hospital is already full of intoxicated people we are LUCKY to have ambulances respond.
This is bullshit. I’ve seen police and ambulance be excellent and professional to minorities and assholes to white people. Now, while this particular case *may* have been racially motivated it could just as easily not have been. It’s dangerous to immediately turn every tragedy into a race issue
He was on acid and broke a window trying to break into my place and bled all over the inside of my apt, all over the door when he was trying to break in, and cops were called. The cops were responding to a violent person that was on some substance because he was screaming gibberish when he was trying to break in. After he couldn’t get in he tried breaking into another apt where he was later caught. These are the Facts.
Yes, thank you! Finally someone who hits us with the facts. It saddens me that we lost one of our fellow Gauchos, but what saddens me the most is that those who helped him are bringing the race card into this situation. This is not the way to approach a problem. Additionally, it’s important to point out that all these witnesses were intoxicated, meaning they were under the influence of alcohol. Given this piece of information, it’s easy to justify why they thought paramedics responded “slow” and why they thought they were being mistreated. If they’re going to be blaming… Read more »
Well said. Professional rescuers are trained to remain calm regardless of the situation. Perhaps their calm demeanor caused those freaking out by the situation to errantly think this was negligence rather than trained professionals doing their job.
Thank you to all the people who did everything in their power to ensure Andres’s safety, may he rest in peace, and may his family be in comfort. It hurts and angers me to see the levels of racism, and the complete disregard for Andres’s life by IVFP. Regardless of how his injury happened, he deserved all the medical support any injured person deserves.
Waaait, his own friends did nothing to help him according to this article. Where were they when he did drugs, punched the window, flipped out, and began bleeding to death before 9-1-1 was called. When Deputies and Fire/EMT arrived they apparently began interfering and arguing. If they were “high” also then they probably not functioning intelligently.
THEY WEREN’T HIS FRIENDS. HE DIDN’T KNOW HEM. THEY WEREN’T HANGING OUT. THEY WERE BYSTANDERS. THEY WEREN’T ON DRUGS.
Where were his friends then?
In their house still on acid. They saw him having a bad trip and decided to let him out of the house. If they never let him out he wouldn’t have done these things
The kid was on crazy drugs…by not putting that in this report you are losing a lot of credibility.
Really?? Do you know him? I’m his brother and I can say only one thing. Who are you to judge him?? You are free to say whatever you want, but I’m asking you respect at this time.
I haven’t seen any sort of toxicology report yet, but in a statement to investigators the roommate said he believes Andres may have ingested some sort of synthetic drug like LSD or K2. There’s an awful lot of hedging phrases in there, but it would certainly help explain the erratic behavior.
Regardless of whether he was or was not on drugs does not justify the lack of care that he received. Even more so, if he was on drugs, the authorities should have done something to help him from endangering himself or others.
Just wanted to comment saying that the name of the Ms. Hernandez they speak of in the article has her name mispelled. It is “Jocelin”, with no “E”. Please fix this, as I have been getting various reporters messaging me on social media. Thanks.
This is truly disgusting. I’ve seen police in IV treating students with arrogance and disdain but hearing that it has cost a student his life is beyond horrifying. The officers involved especially, must be prosecuted, and will hopefully be fired and sued as well.
My biggest concern, from having looked at IVFP’s report is that if they had already visited him in the apartment where he had punched the window, why they just let him there with a bloody arm.
That’s not what it says. The linked IVFP account says it was later determined the injury was caused by punching through the window. I’m not sure how you interpret “later” but it sure sounds like they did what they could medically first and later investigated.
Not about a slow response, but rather a lack of proper care for the individual.
This isn’t a race issue. This is a drug issue. Don’t overcomplicate things, Nexus.
It’s so sad to lose not only another Gaucho, but a kid from my hometown. How terrible it is that he could have been saved. I am disappointed that the Nexus didn’t mention the acid involved in this case. I was so confused as to why the police wouldn’t listen to them and could have acted with so much prejudice when someone was clearly bleeding. I still believe these are legitimate accusations of misconduct, but I shouldn’t have found out important details of the situation from reading the comments. The acid was an important part of the context of this… Read more »
Such a tragedy. I wish that someone there helping would have known to use a tourniquet. Do yourself and those around you a big favor and get first aid training. RIP Andy.
Wait wait wait, you guys didn’t mention he was on acid and punched a glass window? Wait wait wait. Ding ding ding! That’s an alarm going off in my logical head saying “this isn’t credible.”
This kid didn’t deserve to die. No doubt about that. RIP man.
It does seem that there was an error of negligence from the responders. But no one knows why with only half the story. I want to know the other half.
Use your heads people, don’t jump to conclusions.
You should be ashamed of yourself to tell a half true story, DN.
Click the article that they link to at the top. DN says, “Esteban Sanchez’s roommate said he had seen the victim earlier in the evening when he rushed into their apartment talking gibberish. One of the reporting officers visited the address, where the subject had punched through a window and cut his arm on the glass.”
They didn’t leave out the circumstances. Also they can’t say he was on acid until a toxicology report comes out saying that he had it in his system. Otherwise, that is conjecture.
Officer visited the address after the fact as part of the investigation, not when it happened.
This is poor reporting. If you are willing to lend support to the conjecture that this incident (responder negligence) was racially motivated, you must also lend support to the incredibly relevant conjecture that this student was on powerful hallucinogenics that may have contributed to the confusion of the situation. A measured approach is always better. Quite frankly I find it disrespectful to both the victim and his family to one day after the incident, before all of the facts are known, your paper would make such serious allegations, especially in the face of evidence that could change this narrative dramatically.
Please Stop with any type of rude comments. There’s no prove that he had a type of drug in his body and even if he did that doesn’t matter what matters here is that he wasn’t given the medical attention he needed. A family and his friends have lost someone who we love. Please respect our mourning.
But it does matter if he had drugs in his system. It explains why he resisted and why he bleed out faster.
Drugs are bad. Recreational or habitual. Being an educated college student, you should know the risks. Now your family and friends grieve and look for someone to blame. My heart breaks for the family who lost someone so young. But the “friends” and or witnesses who are trying to play a racist card, you are going to draw the wrong attention the family doesn’t need. Facts will show that there was no negligence on the officers or first responders. When an officer shows up to the scene, their job is to secure it and make sure it’s safe. Not knowing… Read more »
Spot-on and great advice for all of us to keep in mind in life.
This is a horrible tragedy that a young life is gone. There’s no need to muddy and make things worse for everyone involved by slinging the term racism around where it clearly is not appropriate.
It doesn’t matter if he was on drugs or not. First responders duty is to save lives even of people who have violated the law. This sounds like a clear case of something most of us already know is a problem in this community. If you are in denial of racism and intolerable violence in Isla Vista and Santa Barbara’s police force then you are part of the problem because you help create a community where the police feel entitled to not respect people’s basic rights.
This is a disappointing statement because it is an assumption without any proof or facts. Thanks for spreading hate.
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.
You are part of the problem. That doesn’t mean I hate you. That means I believe that you are spreading hate.
In other news, the sky is green. Because I said so.
I love this response.
You can’t just deny the truth through ignorance. We were there. We saw them kill Andy. Why you would rather pretend that a drug-using teenager died for no reason just so a couple of cops don’t get fired is the real mystery to anyone with an ounce of morality to them.
What? Now you’re suggesting that he was killed? If you were there then I would reflect on how this could have been prevented rather then pointing the finger at people who were called out to help. The fact is he did drugs and no one could help him… not even you or the IVFP. His fate was probably sealed before anyone arrived to help. And the idea that this whole thing is racist is ridiculous because even if everyone was negligent that still doesn’t prove racism. If you’re suggesting that negligence equals racism then by that logic you’d have to… Read more »
The loss of your friend is tragic but Andy was the one who killed Andy though, through his choices and some unfortunate circumstances of the accident, namely his punching through a window whilst on LSD (?) or other substances.
The police, fire, EMT, and yes even you his friends tried to help as best they could, but it wasn’t enough. Sometimes this is how life is, and it is shitty.
OMG. That is not evidence of anything. Its just some random philosophy without any objectivity. You just can’t prove racism. If you want to find racism look in the mirror because its YOU who are injecting race into this… without any facts.
His fate was sealed? He died because of the drugs? You’re a fool. He died from a laceration that went untreated due to negligence. He should have been rushed to the fucking hospital.
Yes Daily nexus leaves out the fact Andy and others were on acid. This is clearly a tragic accident that is now being politicized and turned into a race issue.
Maybe the cops and first responders did treat the students differently because of their race, but maybe not.
Do I really deserve to be called a racist for questioning that?
Yeah, it dissapoints me to see people automatically see racism as the problem. All this does is shut down discussions of the real issues in this community.
The point is not to argue whether or not race played a factor, more importantly, if people on the scene experience some sort of prejudice, we should hear them out and investigate it going forward.
As a person of color, I want to know that officers and medical responders are given the training and tools to fairly deal with our entire community.
I agree that an investigation be conducted to determine if race played a part but people are already convicted of racism when their isn’t even one piece of evidence to suggest race played a factor. Its people’s emotions that are driving this unsubstantiated dialogue. Have the investigation but lets be objective and if they find no signs of racism we need to move on and NOT claim the investigation was biased too.
Yes
What the hell does taking acid have to do with the negligence at hand here?
WANT TO KNOW WHY THE ACID PART ISNT INCLUDED?? BECAUSE IT ISNT FUCKING RELEVANT. AS FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE WILLING TO HELP ONE ANOTHER IN TIMES OF NEED NO MATTER WHAT. IDGAF ABOUT THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN YOUR GENDER YOUR DRUG USE YOUR RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION, YOU DESERVE TO BE ASSISTED IN A TIME OF NEED. THIS WAS PREVENTABLE. THE OFFICERS DIDNT DO THEIR JOBS. THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR SHOWING UP WITHOUT MEDICAL EQUIPTMENT/TO HAVE A LACK OF URGENCY IN THIS SITUATION UNLESS YOU HAVE NO EMPATHY OR COMPASSION FOR OTHER LIVES. IN WHICH CASE YOU… Read more »
If his four friends couldn’t control him because of the drugs then what makes you think the Deputies could control him? Drugs dictated this whole incident. Yes, his life is valuable but it was his choice to do drugs that doomed him and his actions while under the use of drugs. Not racism.
The witnesses testified that he was out of control but who wouldn’t be when you’re bleeding to death yet they did assure that he was never violent towards them or anyone so there was no need to bring out a baton. Baton wasn’t going to help to save his life. He wasn’t a threat to anyone at anytime and he sure didn’t deserve to die this way without any type of compassion or medical attention.
No, you don’t get it. He was really out of control. His friends couldn’t help him. The Deputies couldn’t help him. The medics couldn’t help him. He was out of control. Isn’t that obvious?
Where you there physically? Did you see what happened? Just respect his memory. I don’t care if he was on drugs or not which also hasn’t been proved. Regardless We all do illegal things at some point in our lives. We’re all human and make mistakes but that doesn’t justify that a family and friends have lost a love one. It definitely doesn’t justify that a public servant didn’t do what he’s entitled to do in such circumstances. All of them were suppose to save him that’s their job! Respect his memory and his love ones mourning. Thank you!
Nope, I wasn’t there. I just read the article that explains how out of control he was from the point of view of his friends who have every reason to downplay his actions. Its not his memory I am disrespecting, its his friend’s efforts to make this a race issue.
It’s the deputies job to handle people who are out of control. Civilians aren’t trained to do that. And I would be freaking out if I was bleeding out too and would hope professionals could show up and restrain me & my adrenaline rush because again they are trained to do so. You don’t deaerve to die because you did some lsd. What the fuck is wrong with all of you? Get some compassion.
Anonymous… they did try and restrain him. The witnesses were complaining that they were treating him like a criminal. One saw them use a baton. So, they were restraining him and he was not cooperating. How can you effectively treat a resistive person? Compassion would be to let everyone grieve and not point fingers make nonobjective statements and make accusations of racism without evidence. Then in defense of their assertion they call anyone who states a different opinion a racist or not compassionate. Ridiculous.
If you read the article and have a basic understanding of the English language you would know that the kids trying to help him were not his friends, but random strangers trying to help.
They weren’t even his friends. They were bystanders, please stop making this mistake people. And they weren’t all intoxicated, just him. He didn’t even know them.
IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO READ TEXT THAT IS WRITTEN LIKE THIS
Chill out brah. Use your brain, open your mind, and stop thinking like a caveman. The acid part isn’t included because this article is biased and attempting to do two things: 1. Save his reputation, so he doesn’t become another person who did something stupid while high. 2. So that the story can be spun in such a way as to make the first responders look incompetent, when in reality, being high is a huge obstacle in emergency situations. Dealing with high subjects requires more time for first responders to get control of the individual, distorts the subject’s ability to… Read more »
YES. All of this. I deal with this shit on the daily. Whoever wrote this article is an incompetent asshole.
“I deal with this shit.” You should quit but your job. You don’t seem compassionate at all. I really hope I never end up in an ambulance with your ass.
This is exactly what I was trying to convey. Thank you for the better written commentary.
“…aside from using a belt as a tourniquet, there isn’t anything you can do. Better to wait for the ambulance because the likelihood of doing more harm than good is very great” – Really?? REALLY?!! So let me get this straight: you think that it would have done more harm to take off the belt around your waist and cinch it around Andy’s arm to act as a tourniquet than it did to lose his life? Sure, maybe he would have lost his arm due to blood loss and loss of circulation by the time that the EMT’s were able… Read more »
So what your saying is that regardless of his level of consciousness, hallucinogenic or not, this young man still would have rammed his arm through a window. I think not.
IT ISNT AN ISSUE OR SURPISE THAT COLLEGE STUDENTS DO DRUGS. GROW UP.
It’s not a surprise, but it certainly is an issue and one that is entirely relevant to this news story. The fact that the DN left it out is telling… but then again not terribly surprising considering it is the Commie Rag, after all. There’s a legacy to uphold. Drug overdose (including prescription drugs) is a chronic problem in IV, not to speak of the incidents involving too much alcohol. It has been this way for years, but just because it’s a common problem doesn’t make it any less of a problem. Most times recreational use of alcohol and drugs… Read more »
Compared to other parts of the country with insane meth/H use I wouldn’t say there’s a huge huge drug issue in Isla vista. I would say it’s like every other major party college town in the US tho. Expand your perspective & get out of the small california bubble
I’m not from here originally, and I agree it isn’t as bad as other places. But the suggestion that because IV isn’t a ghetto with boarded up crack dens on every corner, and therefore alcohol/drug abuse here isn’t a problem, doesn’t really hold much water. It’s pretty rampant.
The more specific point is that drugs or alcohol likely plays a critical role in this event, but was glossed over in turn so that we could focus on someone’s political agenda and perceived microagressions by the EMT workers because they weren’t bubbly enough.
What exactly did the officers and first responders not do for the patient? So far no facts- just comments stating not nice, mean , racist. Any real facts? Grow the hell up.
Welcome to adult world where your irresponsible actions come with actual consequences and mommy and daddy are not here to kiss it and make it better.
This kid was probably 19 or 20 years old… Have a heart. You don’t deaerve to die just because you do a drug. It doesn’t justify it. You lack empathy & compassion.
deserve*
this is tragic for all involved. From the story and statements it appears that Andy punched out a window, received a deadly laceration that caused massive blood loss, was running down streets which caused further blood loss, was held down by his friends in their attempt to help, which upon encountering the scene showed the first responders that force was necessary due to the friend’s body postures holding someone down, and well, sadly… taken all together, massive blood loss over even a short time does result in death. Please stay away from drugs, alcohol abuse and playing the blame game-… Read more »
With the proper medical response an arm laceration shouldn’t be fatal.
From the earlier report, he could easily have cut into the radial or ulnar artery, which sounds like what Marvin Ramirez was saying in the article “[he had] a massive cut in his right arm and it was just gushing out blood, and it wasn’t dripping, it was literally flying and it was ridiculous.” Something like that can absolutely be fatal in mere minutes without treatment. A rough wound is worse than a simple cut. He probably tore into it as he punched through a glass window. Anything else going on at the time (drugs, running around, etc) just makes… Read more »
You’ve got a big artery on the underside of your arm. It probably wasn’t the cut alone, I’m willing to bet that all the running around he did accelerated the blood loss dramatically. I’m also willing to bet that the officers recognized that and pinned him down in an attempt to keep him still and minimize blood loss.
Unless you are amped up on drugs and your friends are as well….
The kids helping him out were random bystanders and not his friends. It’s says it in the article mutiple times.
How about we settle this: the DN should get the 911 call recording so that we can see what the caller said. If they were talking about how out of control he was and if he seemed “dangerous”, then do you blame the officers for having a baton out? I bet they deal with drugged up, drunk idiots a lot and have to get a little heavy sometimes. Police are typically only trained in (and expected to use) CPR because they aren’t doctors or nurses; as such, they are not required to provide medical help. It is, however, inexcusable for… Read more »
They have a basic first aid kit, but I don’t think it would be substantial enough to do any more good than the blanket.
This article is so one sided. All of the testimonies came from his friends who were also tripping on acid… And you know how acid slows time down.
The testimonials are not from his friends, but random bystanders who tried to help him out. Idk why they would have a reason to lie if they did not know Andy and also did not know the first responders.
I currently am a paramedic and a former gaucho and I have to say I am appalled and disgusted by the accusatory tone of this article. Negligence is a HUGE accusation to make so you better have your facts straight before you go accusing people. That being said who ever wrote this clearly has zero understanding of the EMS system. Let me give you the basics for future reference. When paramedics and EMTs arrive on scene they have little to no information about what is going on when they go into it. We get the call and respond code 3… Read more »
Thank you so much for taking the time to write that. I Imagine the EMTs who responded to this tragedy feel bad enough about the outcome without enduring a barrage of unsubstantiated accusations . Most of us are very grateful for the selfless work you do.
I also appreciate the work that you do, and thank you for explaining this!
IVFP has responded to this lunacy.
Hit an artery, ran around, spraying blood. This poor kid didn’t have very good odds. Color doesn’t matter here, we all bleed red. Again, sorry for the families loss.
What would you expect from cops anyway… If they can’t arrest or shoot someone then they are done with it and ready to go one to the next opportunity to screw someone over…Just think…when was the last time a cop helped you?
Cops help lots of people who aren’t dumbass overgrown children.
As a first responder, we are always taught that our own lives are more important than the person who we are trying to save. If you go into an unsafe situation, you are putting yourself at risk and if you get injured, now there are two victims for the next responder to deal with instead of one. A classic acronym for scene size up is PENMAN. Personal protective equipment, Environment appears safe, Number of Victims, Mechanism of injury, Additional resources needed, Need to immobilize. If the environment appeared unsafe, I would not treat the patient until the I can do… Read more »
Just saw the post by the paramedic above. He is 100 percent correct and I hope our two independent posts shows that what we are saying is true
Santa Barbara is OVER 50% Hispanic with a majority of first responders also being Hispanic, how dare you play the race card is a diverse town with many opportunities. Why can’t you let him rest in peace and let the emergency personnel do their job without pulling the race card on them?
Well said.
Why do u guys swear he was on acid ?
I know that the absence of proof is not evidence in and of itself BUT… none of the friends are denying that he was on a hallucinogenic and the police believe he was high. The family members who have commented online also have not denied he was on drugs. So if not acid then something similar. If treating him medically required him to be restrained then I would suggest maybe PCP as a possibility. The only people questioning if he was high or not are people who are going completely off of the Nexus’ article… which is fine, I mean,… Read more »
EVERYONE JUST STOP! ENOUGH! All everyone is doing is speculating….we werent there. Have respect for Andys family. Let the authorities family and attorneys handle this. No matter how someone dies it’s sad and a horrible loss. He was a son, friend, brother, uncle, student, fellow Titan and so many more things to us. Please show respect. RIP Andy! Not judging. Miss and love you.
The ironic part of this whole thing is that all of this talk about who the cops and medics are racist is exhibiting the same generalizing and sterotyping behavior of a racist. How are these judgements any different than that of the KKK?
No way, man. Racists are only white men. Duh.
Pulling the racist card…..the perspective of these students is like KKK? Apples and oranges – period! *You apparently aren’t aware of the picnic-like atmosphere during a hanging, burning, lynching, dismembering (and selling of body parts), behaviors of the KKK. Just to name a few of their evil doings. *When a person or society is traumatized (independent of race) that experience affects them at the neurological level making future events of such nature (fancied or real) capable of triggering defense mechanisms. While I truly appreciate the EMT’s thorough rundown of their procedures, you yourself mention more than once (which I also… Read more »
The perspective of these students and that of the KKK are very similar. They both are extremely judgmental using race as a lens for their perspectives, they stereotype and show basis, they show hatred towards those who don’t share the same beliefs. Basically they demonstrate racist behavior.
Minimize their reality? Give me a break. People are too precious and looking for slight and offense where none exists. You’re part of the problem in validating and reinforcing this absolute attention seeking sort of crap spouted by the off-campus crusader here.
Black lives matter
Yep. Just another racist movement like the KKK.
Its a conspiracy. The 911 operator, EMT, Police, Fire Dept, they’re all in on it. In fact, they form special meetings similar to the KKK and scheme on how they can eliminate brown! Can we get an article about alien and UFO cover ups by the government? Or, better yet, how about a nice article on how the government is sending subliminal messages through the television in order to control the people. this article, What a joke. I’ll tell you the sad truth. this kid got intoxicated, punched a window and bled to death. it could of gone like this… Read more »
Thank god we had a bunch of liberal arts majors there to tell us exactly how they felt about it all and to articulate the various grievances and injustices.
I really feel better that they’re on the case, lending their expert opinion and that DN felt obligated to report and push this out so we all can benefit.
I especially like how DN author is titled staff.
I can’t say that I can blame the author. I personally wouldn’t want my name on the bogus artical.
Don’t forget to add the hospital staff to the conspiracy. They were in on it too.
An unnecessary death is still an unnecessary death. Regardless of who you want to assign blame to (and nearly everyone has blamed someone in the comments whether it is the student who died, the bystanders who tried to help him, or the First Responders), at the end of the day we our left with someone who left this planet far too soon. Someone who was a brother, a son, a friend, and one our students. A human being who we should be willing to grant dignity to even in death — his name was Andres “Andy” Esteban Sanchez. Today I… Read more »
I can’t fathom how you decided to run this earlier and separately from the official response to these wild accusations. Show some patience and get the story right before you publish.
This is the most disjointed news story I have ever read. Clearly, Daily Nexus needs to take some journalism 101 courses and learn not to publish a story with such fantastical claims and a complete fabrication of events until they have spoken to all parties. Surely, those that were there went through a traumatic event and they are laying blame to everyone but themselves for Andy’s death. Were they on acid too? That would explain such a skewed perspective, where everyone is out to get them; where fire, medics, and cops all worked together to slow their roll and “brutalize”… Read more »
I normally view the Daily Nexus as a credible source for news in the area, but this article has dramatically altered how I view the publication in terms of credibility and journalistic integrity; this article is more biased than the worst that Fox News has to offer. I fail to comprehend how something that should have been written based on facts ended up being a one sided piece about how a bunch of drugged out kids acting recklessly at 4 AM believe all of society is out to get them because they’re brown. This article is an insult to people’s… Read more »
First responders should have safely restrained this young man in a bed and should have rushed him to the hospital immediately. Erratic behavior is typical when people are injured and in shock, regardless. This is a unnecessary tragedy and death, and I hope the outcry will prompt a thorough investigation and a change in first responder policy. My condolences to all of the witnesses, friends, community, and to Andy’s family.
Did you read what really happened? First responders were not even called until the young man had already taken a drug and had already put his arm through a window and had already run around and lost a lot of blood. He WAS restrained, first by bystanders and then by cops and medics. If you have worked in a hospital, then you would know restraining him to a bed, out in the field, is not possible until he is in the hospital. I share condolences to the family. What a horrible tragedy for them. I cannot imagine what they are… Read more »
In what capacity did you work in a hospital? Food service, environmental services, hospitality? Your ignorance of handling an emergency like this is shining bright, on someone that is oh so dim.
The kids helping him out were random bystanders and not his friends. It’s says it in the article mutiple times.
Btw, his parents did speak Engish and understood well enough when they were called from the ER.
The idiots who were “jumping” in the way of the police and EMTs and “yelling” at them–thereby interfering with the authorities doing their jobs–should be ashamed. They should also be ashamed that they are using this kid’s tragic end to further their racist propaganda.
Now suddenly they are experts at what types of items and kits should be in police vehicles?
Well said.
Where is the responsibility on the part of the victim and the bystanders that hindered the first responders? The guy made a choice and did some drugs, flipped out and did something that caused his death. No one else caused his death unless they forced drugs down his throat and slashed his arm. People wanted to help. The bystanders wanted to help, and so did the first responders. However, the trained professionals job was made even more difficult by people yelling and screaming at them and getting in the way. I’m sorry for what you (the bystanders) experienced, but lashing… Read more »
Thank you First Responders and hospital staff for being available at 4:40 a.m. to assist with 20-something drugged out lunatics…
After reading what these “kids” testified to at the senate meeting (Melgoza, Ariana, Ramirez and Baker), I have to say, grow up, stop trying to make this tragic accident all about you. When you have some years under your belt and you look back on your behavior, you will be ashamed.
This is a horrible, biased article. I hope that we could get actual real information, and not some one-sided testimony that doesn’t give any other points of view. I am absolutely sure that this is not how things actually happened.
I am extremely disappointed at the Daily Nexus for using Andy’s death as a publicity stunt. I will not be a subscriber anymore.
To all those ranting about acid: that is yet to be determined. The autopsy will do that. Until then, shut the fuck up!
Oh yeah, a note. Those who criticize law enforcement for any reason (valid or not) should expect retribution. In my part of the world (California’s Central Valley) three cops recently engaged with me after I posted some comments on line. They made it clear LE is fed up with the “pieces of shit” who dare to question what cops do, and that they intend to punish critics. Sounds like LE has forgotten who’s in charge-and it’s not them.
Yeah that totally happened. Uh huh.
Yeah it did b…
The cops and some of their supporters in my neck of the woods are fed up with what they describe as “criminals” and “dumb asses” daring to criticize them. They’re mad as hell and aren’t going to put up with it anymore.
They also believe they’re the final arbiters of what’s constitutional-I suggest you goggle “Oath Keepers” and “Constitutional Sheriffs.” Both groups are alive and well in Central Valley LE. Our sheriff is a member of both groups.
Not trying to engage in any fighting, just wanted to share this so that anyone who encounters someone dealing with severe blood loss has a basic idea of how to use a tourniquet. You never know when you might need it. http://www.emsworld.com/article/10364651/ems-recap-tourniquets