One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Investigation Underway After Man Dies In Police Custody
(Photo via Whittier PD/Facebook)
A man died Thursday afternoon while in custody of the Whittier Police. According to a statement by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Whittier police responded to a call "regarding a male adult suffering from a mental illness who was refusing to go to a mental hospital." The man ran away from the home before officers arrived, and was later discovered about a mile away along the 7900 block of Ocean View Drive.
"Upon arrival of officers, the male attempted to jump over a fence that led toward a water reservoir," Sheriff's Deputy Caroline Rodriguez continued in the statement. "Officers used control holds to restrain and handcuff the male." The statement added that, "A short time later the male became unconscious and the officers began lifesaving measures until the arrival of paramedics."
According to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the man was pronounced dead shortly before 2 p.m. at a hospital in Whittier.
The county sheriff's department is currently conducting an investigation of the death, and the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner will be performing an autopsy.
LAist contacted the Whittier Police Department for comment, but has not received response by publication of this piece.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
