(Wells County, IN)-Detectives from the Indiana State Police in Fort Wayne are conducting an investigation, at the request of the Wells County Sheriff Department, into the death of Craigville man which occurred early this morning.
Preliminary investigation by Detectives Shane Neuenschwander and Matt Teusch indicate at approximately 3:52 a.m., Wells County Sheriff Deputies and medics were dispatched to a residence in the 6800 block of East Market Street. A 34 year old man identified as Jason Schmidt had reportedly been “huffing” aerosol dusting spray and was said to have been incoherent and had shallow and labored breathing. It was also reported Schmidt would not be cooperative with medics and their medical care.
Two deputies arrived and at approximately 4:14 a.m., gave Schmidt commands to exit the residence and when they received no response, they went inside. The deputies purportedly observed Schmidt “huffing” with an aerosol can and when they tried to take it from him, he became physically combative. After numerous commands to stop his combative actions, one of the deputies deployed his taser at approximately 4:21 a.m., which was ineffective.
The second deputy then deployed his taser which allowed them to control Schmidt with the use of their handcuffs. The medics at the scene evaluated Schmidt and determined that he could be transported by deputies to Bluffton Regional Medical Center for medical clearance prior to incarceration. Schmidt walked to one of the police cars and upon arriving at the hospital, walked into the emergency room with the deputy. After being at the hospital for about an hour, Schmidt was pronounced dead at approximately 6:15 a.m., and by 6:30 a.m., the Wells County Sheriff Department requested an investigation be conducted by the Indiana State Police. An autopsy has been scheduled for Monday morning in Fort Wayne.
At this time, this is an on-going investigation and no further information will be released until results of the autopsy have been made available.
