Florence PD: 19-year-old man dies in custody while experiencing ‘medical episode’

FLORENCE, Ala. (WAFF) - A 19-year-old man died while in the custody of the Florence Police Department on March 4 after experiencing a “medical episode of some type,” according to a department spokesperson.

The spokesperson said officers arrested a man who was allegedly being disorderly on Court Street in Florence. During the booking process at the Lauderdale County Detention Center, officers believed the man was having a “medical episode of some type.”

An ambulance was called to the detention center, but emergency personnel was unable to provide care because the man was being physically uncooperative, according to the spokesperson.

The man was then transported to the North Alabama Medical Center in a police car for treatment. According to the spokesperson, the man was escorted by police officers into the emergency room around 11 p.m. The man was pronounced dead at 1:30 a.m. on March 5.

The following was included in the official statement from the spokesperson:

“This was a medical event. Based on my own review, it is my belief that the original, triggering event occurred prior to officers’ initial contact with the subject. Then, while in our custody, the individual’s physical well-being began to deteriorate. At that point, medical attention was summoned. No harm occurred to the individual while he was under our control and in our care.”

According to the police department spokesperson, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) is conducting the investigation.

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