Report: Man Who Killed Aitkin Co. Deputy Never Evaluated at Hospital
The suspect who shot and killed an Aitkin County Sheriff’s Deputy at a St. Cloud Hospital in October was never evaluated by a psychiatrist while at the hospital.
New reports released Monday show that 50-year-old Danny Hammond was placed on a 72-hour hold by a physician assistant rather than a physician.
The report prompted the hospital to update its policies and training in recent weeks.
Hammond was airlifted to the hospital for treatment after attempting suicide with an intentional overdose.
On October 18, he shot and killed Aitkin County Deputy Steven Sandberg at the hospital.
The incident happened around 5:15 in the morning when Hammond got out of bed and engaged in an altercation with the deputy, taking his gun and shooting him.
Hammond was killed after being subdued by a stun gun.
He was charged the week before with several felonies including kidnapping and terrorizing his wife after holding her at gunpoint when she said she was leaving him.
The Federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services placed the St. Cloud Hospital on “immediate jeopardy” status after the shooting, meaning it wasn’t following agency requirements and placed residents in danger.
The hospital was given until November 19 to correct policies or lose it’s medicare status.
The Minnesota Department of Health accepted changes the hospital made, and it has since been removed from the list.
