Inspector General Cites Drugs As Cause In Manchester PD Cell Death

MANCHESTER, CT — The Connecticut Department of Justice Friday released a report from the Office of Inspector General regarding an in-custody death in the Manchester Police Department last summer.

Joseph Torrice Jr. died at the age of 37 in a holding cell on July 10.

On July 8, at approximately 1:30 p.m., the Manchester Police Department arrested Torrice for interfering with an officer and narcotics offenses. Torrice resisted officers’ efforts to place him into custody. Ultimately, officers brought Torrice to the ground and placed handcuffs on him, according to case records.

At the time of his arrest, police learned that Torrice was wanted by the State of New York — his last listed state of residence — on an extraditable felony warrant, case records show. Torrice told the arresting officers that he had used drugs an hour before his arrest and held a prescription for suboxone, according to case records.

Unable to post bond, Torrice remained in the custody of the Manchester PD and officers
monitored him via face-to-face contacts and through closed-circuit video, according to the Inspector General's report.

At about 5:50 p.m. on July 10, police found Torrice unresponsive on the floor of his cell, according to the Inspector General's report.

Initially, Manchester police provided aid and later a Manchester fire crew took over, according to the Inspector General's report. Torrice was taken to Hartford Hospital, and four days later — on July 14 — doctors determined that Torrice was "brain dead, " according to the Inspector General's report.

The hospital kept him on life support until July 18, but at at 11:05 a.m. he was removed from such life support resulting in "circulatory death," according to the Inspector General's report, according to the Inspector General's report.

The Office of the Inspector General, together with the Connecticut State Police Eastern District Major Crime Squad, investigated Torrice's in-custody death. The investigation established that, due to "withdrawal from opioids and other drugs," Torrice "suffered cardiac arrest that caused his heart to stop beating thereby, depriving his brain of oxygen, resulting in his death."

Torrice’s death "was not due to a peace officer's use of force against him nor from any other criminal action," the report concluded.

Manchester police released cell surveillance footage shortly after the arrest: