Man Dies After Losing Consciousness While Being Taken into Custody in Norwalk

NORWALK, CA - A man is dead after he lost consciousness while being taken into custody by sheriff's deputies who were called to the scene by two passersby who had initially detained him, authorities said Sunday.

Deputies arrived at the 10900 block of Firestone Boulevard in Norwalk just before 6:45 p.m. Saturday and found the passersby struggling to hold the man down outside a restaurant, according to Deputy Kimberly Alexander of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Information Bureau.

The two initially spotted the man in the middle of the street trying to get inside occupied vehicles, Alexander said.

Deputies later learned he had gotten into a parked vehicle in the 1700 block of Studebaker Road in Norwalk and tried to get into a second one, she said.

He then ran southbound toward Firestone where he jumped into the flatbed of an occupied truck before falling out. Later he was seen bleeding and entering a Norwalk business wearing only a shirt and his underwear, the deputy said.

The business was a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant where diners were detained for hours during the investigation, witnesses told reporters.

It was then that the passersby noticed the man's erratic behavior and detained him, Alexander said.

The deputies performed CPR before transporting the man to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Anyone with information was asked to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500 or to leave an anonymous tip at (800) 222-8477.

-- City News Service, photo via Shutterstock