The emergencies occurred about two weeks apart, and one patient, 25-year-old Edan Cherrill, later died after hospitalization.
HOPKINS, Minn. — Police are investigating a Minnesota dental center after two patients suffered cardiac arrest during procedures about two weeks apart, including a 25-year-old man who later died, according to police records and reports about the investigation.
The scrutiny centers on Gendler Dental Center in Hopkins and two September medical emergencies. The first involved a patient who experienced cardiac arrest during a procedure about two weeks before a second patient, Edan Cherrill, suffered cardiac arrest while undergoing a dental cleaning on Sept. 23. Cherrill was hospitalized and died several days later.
Hopkins police confirmed to CBS Minnesota that there is an active investigation involving the dental center. Authorities have not publicly established that the two emergencies had a common cause, nor have they announced findings showing that a dentist, anesthesia provider or other person committed wrongdoing. No charges have been reported.
Records cited in news reports indicate the earlier emergency occurred on Sept. 9. That patient was taken to a hospital after suffering cardiac arrest during a dental appointment. Public reports have not disclosed that person’s identity or current condition. Cherrill’s emergency occurred Sept. 23, creating a two-week span between the incidents.
Cherrill’s family attorney, Rashanda Bruce, said he was autistic and needed sedation because of sensory issues. She said he had undergone routine dental cleanings with sedation before. During the Sept. 23 appointment, however, he went into cardiac arrest and was later placed on life support at a hospital. His obituary says he died Sept. 30.
The publicly available reports leave several important questions unanswered. Authorities have not announced the medical cause of Cherrill’s cardiac arrest, identified the specific medication or level of sedation used during his appointment, or said whether the same personnel or sedation procedures were involved in both September emergencies. Investigators also have not publicly linked either event to a specific act or omission by the dental center.
Gendler Dental Center lists sedation dentistry among the services offered at its Hopkins practice, along with preventive, restorative, cosmetic and implant dentistry. The practice’s website describes the office as providing comprehensive dental treatment. CBS Minnesota reported that the dental center declined to comment when contacted about Cherrill’s death and the investigation.
The investigation has drawn particular attention because of the short time between the two cardiac arrests. Even so, the occurrence of two emergencies at the same location does not by itself establish why either happened. Determining whether the incidents were related, involved similar circumstances or resulted from unrelated medical factors remains a matter for investigators and medical professionals.
Cherrill’s family has said it wants the investigation to explain what happened during what had been expected to be a routine appointment. His family also authorized organ and tissue donation after his death. According to the family’s attorney, his donated organs saved four lives and his skin and tissue donations helped more than 75 people.
Hopkins police have not publicly announced a final finding in the investigation. The cause of the two cardiac arrests, whether the incidents were connected and whether any action will be taken against an individual or the practice remained unresolved as of Oct. 17.
Author note: Last updated October 17, 2026.