Tucson police chief offers to resign after man dies in custody

[June 25, 2020]    By Andrew Hay

(Reuters) - The chief of police in Tucson, Arizona on Wednesday offered to resign after he released a video showing the death of a Latino man who said "he could not breathe" as police handcuffed him and placed him face down on his stomach.

Carlos Ingram-Lopez, 27, died on April 21, police restraining him in a "prone position" with his hands behind his back for about 12 minutes, police chief Chris Magnus told a news briefing.

The video showed Ingram-Lopez repeatedly asking for water, crying out, moaning and breathing heavily until he eventually falls silent.

Three police officers resigned over the incident, Magnus said. An investigation found they committed multiple policy violations during the incident, Magnus said, adding that he had offered his own resignation.

A source said Tucson's city manager had yet to accept Magnus' resignation

"The involved officers did not live up to our department's high standards," Magnus said.

The video was released following weeks of protests demanding police departments be overhauled, defunded or dismantled to stop officers killing unarmed people of color. The protests were sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

Police reported Ingram-Lopez died from a sudden cardiac arrest with acute cocaine intoxication and an enlarged heart, according to the Pima County Medical Examiner's report.

Ingram-Lopez had committed domestic violence against a "significant other" two days before his grandmother called police around 1 a.m. on April 21 and told them he was "drunk and yelling," Magnus said.

Ingram-Lopez was acting in a "highly erratic manner" when he was taken into custody, and officers handcuffed him inside the garage of the family home, Magnus said. Officers performed CPR and used Narcan to try to revive him after he became unresponsive, Magnus said.

(Reporting By Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico, additional reporting by Andrea Shalal in Washington; Editing by Bill Tarrant and Grant McCool)

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