Carlos “Adrian” Ingram-Lopez died in police custody in April. His death was not made public until two months later.

No criminal charges will be filed against four current and former Tucson police officers over the in-custody death of Carlos Adrián Ingram Lopez, Pima County’s top prosecutor said.

“The officers were acting in good faith in the lawful performance of their duties,” prosecutors said in a 14-page report sent to police Chief Chris Magnus detailing why the Pima County Attorney’s Office is declining to prosecute in the case that drew national headlines.

In a weekslong review of circumstances behind the April death, a team of prosecutors weighed whether there was enough evidence to charge several officers involved with assault or unlawful imprisonment, or with negligent or reckless homicide.

In each case, the report said, criminal charges were ruled out because they could not be proven “beyond a reasonable doubt,” — the legal standard for a criminal conviction.

“There is a reasonable doubt as to whether the conduct of the officers here caused the death of Mr. Ingram Lopez,” it said.

The report also raises questions about the credibility of a freelance forensic pathologist who conducted a second autopsy paid for by Ingram Lopez’ family, which is seeking $19 million in damages from the city.

The family’s attorney, Eduardo Coronado, said the family is “very surprised and very, very heartbroken,” that the officers will not be charged and they will now have to rely on the civil courts for justice.

“Right now I don’t see another option,” he said.

The case has received widespread attention since June when police belatedly notified the city council and released video footage of the incident two months after it occurred.

Prosecutors examined the actions of three former officers who resigned to avoid termination — Jonathan Jackson, Ryan Starbuck and Samuel Routledge — and a fourth officer, Jerin Stoor, who arrived after the others were already on scene and briefly helped hold down Ingram Lopez’s legs as he was being handcuffed.

TPD has acknowledged, and the report said prosecutors confirmed, that the three officers who resigned violated several policies on proper prisoner handling. But that doesn’t mean they broke the law, it said.

“The officers were responding to an emergency 911 call concerning a potential domestic violence crime in progress” and at the time, Ingram Lopez, 27, already had a warrant out for his arrest on a previous domestic violence charge, the report said.

In that situation, it is mandatory under state law for police to take the suspect into custody, the report said.

The amount of force the officers used was “justified,” it said.

“They did not strike, punch, kick or choke Mr. Ingram Lopez. There is also no evidence of any intent by the officers to cause injury, the letter states.

“The officers used only such force as was necessary to restrain Mr. Ingram Lopez in handcuffs in order to arrest him, the report said. The review was conducted by Deputy County Attorney Rick Unklesbay and Chief Trial Counsel Nicol Green and in consultation with retiring County Attorney Barbara LaWall and other top officials in the office.

Since Ingram Lopez was a chronic cocaine abuser with an enlarged heart, and was high on the drug when he died, the county attorney’s office consulted an expert in pharmacology from the University of Arizona.

The expert said the drug levels in the deceased man’s blood caused “a cocaine-induced psychosis that can result in death,” the report said.

Prosecutors also looked specifically at the physical restraint methods police used — handcuffing the suspect, covering his face with a spit sock and keeping him on his stomach for about 10 minutes.

Three forensic experts involved in an autopsy done by the Pima County Medical Examiner all told the county attorney they could not determine if the police use of restraints was a factor in the death, or whether Ingram Lopez might have died that night anyway.

The medical examiner said the death was caused by a heart attack “in the setting of acute cocaine intoxication and physical restraint” with an enlarged heart as a “significant contributing condition. The manner of death was ruled “undetermined.”

“According to these forensic medical experts, the conduct of the officers during the events may or may not have been a contributing factor,” the report said.

“Furthermore, the medical experts also stated they cannot determine whether Mr. Ingram Lopez might have died that night without any police involvement,” it said.

The county attorney gave no credence to a second autopsy report by a freelance pathologist who was paid by the dead man’s family. That report suggested police had caused Ingram Lopez to suffocate to death.

The second autopsy, by forensic pathologist Dr. Philip Keen of Phoenix, found “the death was not due to the drug” and that Ingram Lopez’ death was “consistent with an asphyxia event (suffocation.)”

The county attorney’s report said Keen’s findings “do not provide reliable proof” of the cause of death, and noted that the county attorney had made numerous unsuccessful requests to interview Keen about the reasoning behind his conclusions.

Coronado, the attorney for the family of Ingram Lopez, said he remains confident in Keen’s findings.


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Contact reporter Carol Ann Alaimo at 573-4138 or calaimo@tucson.com. On Twitter: @AZStarConsumer