KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A KPD officer who died during training passed away because of natural causes, an autopsy report said.
Wisbens Antoine was training to become a Knoxville Police officer, set to be sworn in on March 4. He collapsed on Feb. 23 and was pronounced dead early in the morning on Feb. 25.
Antoine was finishing a sit up, sprint, push-up and 1.5 mile run test on a track at Fulton High School when he collapsed the autopsy report said. He told two other recruits "I can't see."
Dr. William R. Oliver with the Knox County Regional Forensic Center listed Antoine's cause of death as exertional compartment syndrome.
In that disease, tissue in the legs prevents muscles from swelling, compressing blood vessels, Oliver wrote.
"These blood vessels cannot deliver blood to muscle tissue downstream, and those muscles in turn become damaged and swell," Oliver said. "When muscle cells die, they release myoglobin, a chemical that stores oxygen in muscle tissue. Myoglobin, unfortunately is toxic to other organs."
The National Institutes of Health said compartment syndrome can be a surgical emergency because it can lead to organ death.
The autopsy report said compartment syndrome is usually associated with crushing of the limbs, but it has been shown to be a risk in military training and sports involving heavy exertion, though it is rare.
Knoxville Police Chief Paul Noel said he asked Knoxville Judge Tyler Caviness to swear Antoine in as a Knoxville Police Officer from the hospital. KPD said Antoine had a badge over his heart as he was lying in the hospital bed.
In April, the Knoxville City Council passed a resolution granting Antoine's family a pension totaling $325 per month.