Police in Denver say a 43-year-old man died on Sunday after a “apparent medical event” while they had him in custody.
Denver police said there was evidence that the medical event and death could have been caused by drugs. However, the naloxone that officers gave the man soon after he lost consciousness had “no apparent effect.”
The Denver Police Department wrote down what happened between police and the suspect from before 9 a.m. to about 2:12 p.m.
Someone broke a protection order and arrested the man around 8:47 a.m. in the 3700 block of North Quebec Street. Police said the order was connected to a felony threat the man made at the same location before.
Man suffers ‘medical event’ and dies after arrest in Denver:
Man suffers ‘medical event’ and dies after arrest in Denver https://t.co/Tg9H93oOSB pic.twitter.com/iJB8VLFJWU
— FOX31 Denver KDVR (@KDVR) November 29, 2023
A caller told police that the suspect had taken off an ankle monitor that he had to wear. The monitor was later found in an alley at the scene. The suspect was found in a building unit at 9:32 a.m. after police looked for him.
The officer who caught him said they used minimal force and described the hold as an arm control hold. Around 10:46 a.m., the officer driving the suspect to the Downtown Detention Center saw the suspect in the back seat of the police car having a medical emergency.
According to Denver Police, the officer pulled over the car near 29th and Champa streets and called for help right away. Three officers who were there during the arrest also came to help. They took the man out of the police car and talked to him to try to figure out what he was feeling.
Check out some of the latest news:
- A Man Was Arrested for Attacking His Mother in New York
- Man Escapes From Hospital After Being Arrested in Philadelphia
According to the cops, the man was standing and aware, but not very responsive. Not long after that, he passed out and finally stopped breathing. Officers did CPR and gave the person naloxone, which is used to stop opioid overdoses, but it didn’t seem to work.
Three of the four cops who were at the scene of the suspect’s medical emergency helped him. Paramedics from Denver Health came to the scene and took the suspect to Denver Health. It was said that he was dead at 2:12 p.m.
Investigators from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Colorado State Patrol, and the Office of the Independent Monitor were called in by the department to look into what happened. There is also a review going on with the Denver District Attorney’s Office.
The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner will figure out how the man died and then make the man’s name public.
This is the second death of this kind that the Denver Police Department has seen in November. A 36-year-old guy died on November 15 after what seemed to be a medical event after being arrested.