Investigation underway after man dies after taken into police custody
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) The Fort Wayne Police Department and Indiana State Police are investigating after a man died while in police custody on Thursday.
“We want to make sure everything is done perfectly in this investigation to show the community that the Fort Wayne Police Department is transparent. Like I said that was my stance when I took the office to be transparent to show the community that the Fort Wayne Police Department has nothing to hide,” Hamilton said at the press conference at Rousseau Centre, which is FWPD’s headquarters.
Around 10:45 Thursday morning, detectives with the Vice & Narcotics unit and members of the Emergency Services Team served a search warrant at a home in the 3500 block of Oliver Street.
The woman who was the target of the warrant wasn’t there, and police learned she was at a location in the 8600 block of Lakeside Drive.
Detectives set up surveillance and saw the woman and a man get into a vehicle and drive away. They conducted a traffic stop in the 8200 block of Bridgeway Drive.
During that time, detectives saw what they believed to be both people ingesting narcotics. Once the suspects were taken out of the vehicle, they saw the man spit something out.
The woman told investigators she wasn’t feeling well and an ambulance was called to the scene. Both suspects were evaluated by medics and the man refused treatment. The woman was taken to a hospital where doctors determined she was in critical condition.
Detectives took the man to the police station for an interview. Shortly after that, he appeared to be in distress and medical personnel were called. Before medics got there, the man suffered cardiac arrest. Police performed CPR until medics and fire personnel arrived. The man was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The five detectives associated with the incident are on paid administrative leave.
The names of the suspects have not been released.
Indiana State Police, the Allen County Coroner’s office and the Allen County Prosecutor’s office are assisting the FWPD in this investigation.