LAKEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) – A federal magistrate judge is recommending a ketamine-related lawsuit be dismissed with prejudice unless someone makes a valid objection by Wednesday.
Jeremiah Axtell filed the lawsuit in 2021 after a 2020 incident in which he said a paramedic inappropriately injected him with ketamine while he was in police custody.
“The injection was not done as part of a valid medical procedure or in line with protocol under the ketamine waiver system. It was done in retaliation for speech and at the behest of law enforcement,” the suit alleged.
According to the judge’s January 2022 decision, the court is recommending the dismissal of the suit and says all but one defendant shall be entitled to a legal protection for government employees called qualified immunity.
“Be advised that all parties shall have fourteen (14) days after service hereof to serve and file any written objections in order to obtain reconsideration by the District Judge to whom this case is assigned,” the court paperwork said.
Since Axtell filed his suit in January 2021, the state enacted a new law that restricts the manner in which ketamine can be used to sedate people outside of a hospital setting.
The drug is not currently being used to sedate agitated people outside of a hospital setting, while the state health department develops regulations that align with the new law.