Man Dies In Police Custody In Fremont

FREMONT, CA — A man taken into custody by Fremont Police Tuesday, suspected of theft and fraud, collapsed in the police station and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. According to a police statement, "one of the attending doctors provided officers with a sandwich sized plastic baggy. The baggy contained a second baggy with unknown objects inside of it. Doctors explained the baggy had been trapped in the male’s trachea and retrieved from his throat."

The baggy and its contents were turned over to the coroner's bureau, where an autopsy will be performed to determine the man's cause of death. His name has not been released to the public.

At around 6 p.m., the 42-year-old man was arrested at Fry’s Electronics on Osgood Road for theft and fraud charges. He was was taken to the police department and placed in an interrogation room. According to police, "Once in the room, detectives took off the handcuffs and the male sat down. Detectives briefly left the male in the room to turn on the room’s recording system in the room next door. When officers turned on the system, they immediately noticed the suspect was having problems breathing."

Police officers and the fire department performed emergency treatment on the man, including CPR, and he was transported tot he hospital by ambulance.

Fremont Detectives and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office are investigating the incident as an in-custody death.

-Image via Fremont Police