By Bill Parry
RIDGEWOOD -The NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau was investigating why a man died in police custody in Ridgewood Wednesday just after 2 p.m.
Plainclothes officers from the 104th Precinct Anti-Crime Team were traveling northbound on Grand View Avenue when they saw a 46-year-old man sitting on a motor scooter in front of a home, the NYPD said. The man, who police say had an active arrest warrant, noticed the officers and began to flee southbound on northbound Grand View Avenue in the wrong direction.
With the officers in pursuit in an unmarked car, the man collided into the side mirror of a white Hyundai SUV, the NYPD said. The suspect fell off his scooter and began to run down Grand View Avenue until he was apprehended by officers in the vicinity of Menihan Street where he was placed into custody, the NYPD said.
The suspect informed police that he had a pre-existing medical condition and was having difficulty breathing. He told the officers that he was in possession of medication for his condition. The officers quickly administered the medication to the suspect who stood up and moments later became unconscious, according to the NYPD.
The handcuffs were immediately removed as an officer began to administer chest compressions, the NYPD said.
EMS responded to the location and took the man to Wycoff Hospital, where he was pronounced DOA.
The medical examiner will determine the cause of death and the Internal Affairs Bureau is reviewing the matter.
