Final moments of ODing patient discharged by doctor who said he was ‘playing possum’ seen in disturbing bodycam footage

Disturbing bodycam footage shows an Oregon man’s final moments suffering from an overdose at a hospital before a doctor, presuming he was “playing possum,” handed him off to police and suggested they bring him to a bus stop before he later died. Jean DesCamps, 26, was admitted to Providence Milwaukie Hospital on Dec.

12 after he was found covered in feces and moving slowly on Portland’s TriMet MAX train. He told police that he used drugs and was in pain, so they took him to the hospital, according to a review by the Multnomah County Prosecutor’s Office provided to The Post. He was showered, given antibiotics for infections and received “a little” Narcan for “mild opioid intoxication” but the hospital did not appear to order a toxicology report or drug screening for DesCamps — whom staff described to police as a “chronic problem.” Soon after, doctors decided he was ready to be discharged.

A hospital security guard asked for police at 9:45 p.m. to remove DesCamps from the emergency department for “being difficult” and refusing to leave. When police arrived, they reported seeing him “groaning and drooling” and appearing incapacitated. Footage released by the Milwaukie Police Department shows Descamp slumped in a hotel chair with scabs and sores covering his legs, the Daily Mail reported .

“There is no medical reason for him to be here anymore, and it’s all behavioral,” one staff member can be heard telling officers, according to the clip. An Emergency Department physician said DesCamps was “playing possum” and that “the officers should just drop him off at a bus stop,” the DA’s memo said.

When an officer suggested he could die, the physician said he was medically cleared and he was faking his symptoms. He had several warrants for his arrest for criminal mischief and unauthorized use of a vehicle, but the Clackamas County Jail told to police that it would not accept DesCamps if couldn’t walk or care for himself.

Bodycam footage shows two officers pin the man’s arms over his head while they affix handcuffs to his limp wrists. They gently pick him up and place him in a wheelchair, video shows. “Do you at all feel comfortable with anything that is going on right now?” one officer asks in the video as they load DesCamps into the car.

“No,” another responds. They decided to take him to another hospital, Unity Behavioral Medical Center in Portland, calling and telling the facility DeCcamps was in “bad shape,” according to the DA’s findings. As they waited for staff to retrieve him outside the hospital, one officer questioned whether or not DesCamps was still breathing.

“When they could not confirm a pulse, the officers immediately removed DesCamps from the vehicle, uncuffed him, and performed CPR until medical took over,” the DA’s office said. He was declared dead at 11:31 p.m. “I’ve been saying for years, it’s a matter of time before they refuse to do care and make us do something,” one officer tells an ambulance medic in the bodycam footage.

“That guy does not need to be dead right now. Their mindset there is, ‘Oh, it’s just another tweaker.’” EMS told officers they did everything right, and said they should call an ambulance for medical transport from one hospital if they find themselves in a situation with a similar patient again.

One officer explains that Providence Hospital refused to re admit the man. “I mean he is not verbal, he is not talking, he has got an involuntary drool, and they are like, nope, there is nothing wrong with him,” he says. The State Medical Examiner’s Office determined DesCamps died of a drug overdose and contributing natural causes.

The police officers were cleared of any criminality regarding his death, the DA’s office said. “At no point in that footage does DesCamps meaningfully respond to what’s going on around him,” the document read. “The footage captures the officers’ concern and the hospital’s responses—and supports the conclusion that DesCamps was only placed on a police hold and transported to Unity when it became clear that hospital would not treat him any further.” The Post has reached out to DesCamps’ family attorney, Amity Girt, for comment.

Providence said the bodycam footage “is difficult to watch” and is conducting an internal review into the incident. “We recognize we have a lot of work to do in building better relationships with our first responders, especially the officers in the Milwaukie Police Department,” the facility told The Post in a statement.

“Police and emergency personnel have difficult, high pressure jobs — and we commit to doing more to ease their way.” The Oregon Health Authority notified Providence Milwaukie Hospital that it was facing an “immediate jeopardy notice” — threatening its federal funding. The hospital said it was addressing OHA’s concerns by “reinforcing our existing processes for caring for and discharging patients with our Providence Milwaukie caregivers.” Providence confirmed that its emergency department doctors are not employed by Providence but are contracted with Oregon Emergency Physicians..