By Ruby Gonzales
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
WEST COVINA, Calif. — A burglary suspect died Saturday after he fought with a West Covina police officer and a sheriff’s deputy in a hospital emergency room, got Tasered and was later subdued by officers, detectives said Monday.
Coroner’s officials described him as a Valinda man in his 40s but didn’t release the name because his next of kin in Mexico hasn’t been notified.
One officer got a bruised knee during the noontime incident at Citrus Valley Medical Center, Queen of the Valley campus. West Covina police didn’t name the four officers and one deputy involved in the incident.
The suspect was arrested for allegedly trying to break into a house on Durness Street in West Covina on Saturday morning.
West Covina police Chief Frank Wills said a witness saw a man trying to pry a window screen from a girl’s bedroom. The man left when he was interrupted by the resident, he added. Police got a description of the burglar.
An officer stopped the suspect on Durness Street who was identified as the attempted burglar, Wills said. He was arrested and later complained of an upset stomach and dehydration to the officer.
“Our policy is we don’t book if there’s a complaint of a medical problem,” Wills said.
The suspect indicated he was sick and wanted to see a doctor so the officer took him to the hospital, according to Lt. Dan Rosenberg of the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau which is investigating the noontime incident.
“It was during that time he became combative and tried to escape. A deputy just happened to be there with a prisoner of her own,” Rosenberg said.
The West Covina officer and the deputy got into a fight with the suspect in the emergency room. The officer used a Taser on the suspect who continued to fight, he said.
Three other West Covina officers responded and the man was subdued.
“When they subdued him, they discovered he was unresponsive,” Rosenberg said.
He said the man died while the hospital staff was giving him medical aid.
West Covina police is conducting an administrative investigation on the incident and the procedures used by the officers.
“From the preliminary investigation and witness statements, the officers handled it professionally,” Wills said. “There’s no indication mistakes were made and unreasonable force was used.”
Copyright 2007 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Los Angeles Newspaper Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved