Stamford Man Died Of Natural Causes In Police Custody: Official

STAMFORD, CT — Steven Barrier, a 23-year-old city man, who died after being taken into custody by Stamford Police in October, died of "natural causes" and there is "no evidence" of police using force, officials said Thursday.

State's Attorney Richard Colangelo Jr. said he has completed his investigation and concluded there is "no evidence that there was any force used" to take Barrier into custody.

"I have reviewed all of the police reports, body worn camera video, investigative reports and medical records," Colangelo said in a statement. "There is no evidence that there was any force used to take Mr. Barrier into custody, and his death was the result of natural causes."

According to Colangelo, the State's Attorney's Office has been in contact with Barrier's family to assure they "are kept aware of the investigation." As part of his investigation, Colangelo shared body cam footage from police with the family and the public in October. He received the final autopsy report in early January.

On behalf of the office, Colangelo offered their condolences to Barrier's family "on their tragic loss."

Colangelo's investigation also determined a Taser was not used when officers brought Barrier into custody.

"While there was no evidence of a Taser injury to Mr. Barrier, or any evidence that a Taser was deployed, I requested an analysis of the Tasers deployed to all of the officers working the night of [October] 23," Colangelo said. "All of the Tasers were downloaded and all reports confirm that no Tasers were deployed."

The Incident

In a lengthy statement, Colangelo said his investigation revealed that the Stamford Emergency Dispatch Center received a 911 call around 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 22 regarding "a domestic violence incident" involving Barrier at a home in Stamford.

Officers arrived at the West Avenue home and determined Barrier was not there.

See also: Body Camera Footage Released Of Man Who Died In Police Custody: VIDEO

"As part of procedure with domestic violence incidents, a safety plan was discussed with Barrier's family, including instructions to contact the dispatch center should he return to the home," Colangelo said.

The department's dispatch center received a 911 text message nearly two hours later, alerting them that Barrier had returned to the home. Officers returned to the home, at which time Barrier "fled the residence."

Barrier ran through several backyards and hopped some fences while officers chased him on foot, Colangelo said. Police ultimately caught up to him at the Home Depot property on West Main Street.

Colangelo said the body camera footage shows police taking Barrier into custody without incident. When asked to walk to a police car, Barrier told officers he was tired and was ultimately carried to a cruiser.

During the drive, Barrier asked for the air conditioning to be turned on, and an officer rolled down the car windows a bit.

After taking him out of the car, officers found that Barrier was unconscious and they carried him to a holding area. They requested medical emergency medical help, which arrived about six minutes later. Barrier was taken to Stamford Hospital, where he died at 3:10 a.m., Colangelo said.

An autopsy was performed on Barrier later that morning. The medical examiner ultimately determined Barrier's cause of death to be Atherosclerotic Coronary Artery Disease, and the manner of death to be "natural."

According to Colangelo, there was no evidence of inflicted injuries found by the medical examiner.

The Aftermath

On Dec. 3, a public meeting regarding Barrier's case was held at the Bethel A.M.E. Church in Stamford. Renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, along with members of the Stamford NAACP, the ACLU of Connecticut and the law enforcement community, organized the meeting after twice calling for an emergency meeting of the Stamford Board of Representatives to discuss city police policies.

See also: Attorney Vows To Get 'Justice' For Steven Barrier

The group sent a letter to the board in early November, to which the city responded and said the chief of police could not comment on the case due to an ongoing investigation by the Stamford State's Attorney's Office, according to the Stamford Advocate.

Crump represented the family of Trayvon Martin and is currently representing Barrier's family.

"It just boggles the mind what these officers did that night," Crump said, "They never meant to protect and serve Steven Barrier, they just wanted to police him. Why is it that you will go protect and serve other communities, but when it comes to our community, you just want to police us?"

See also: Stamford Mother 'Begging' For Answers About Son's Death

Two days after Barrier's death, Jaddo said she was "begging" for answers about her son's final moments during a news conference held at Bethel AME. Clergy, elected officials and representatives of the NAACP's Stamford branch were also in attendance.

"Three days ago, my son needed help," Jaddo said during the news conference. "Instead of receiving help, he lost his life. I received the news that no mother should ever have to hear. I am left with a giant pain in my heart and a thousand questions about what happened."

That same day, Mayor David Martin said in a statement he had invited community leaders, clergy, and members of the NAACP to his office a day prior to discuss the incident, along with Colangelo, Wuennemann and other officials.

Martin said he believed the community had the right to know what happened and would share all available information as soon as he was permitted by the State's Attorney's Office.

"The death of this man is an absolute tragedy," Martin said in a statement. "I sympathize with the grief his family is feeling."