Tucson mayor 'anguished' by video of man's death in police custody

The Tucson Police Department plans to release details Wednesday about the death of a man who died two months ago in police custody – an incident so disturbing to the mayor that, after watching it on video, she called off Tuesday night’s City Council meeting and made a plea for police reform.

“After viewing a video yesterday of a Tucson Police Department in-custody death, I do not feel that it would be appropriate to carry on with business as usual in light of this event,” Mayor Regina Romero said in a news release Tuesday.

The man who died was identified Wednesday as Carlos Ingram-Lopez, 27.

Meanwhile, Tucson police announced a few hours later that three officers involved the Ingram-Lopez's arrest resigned before an internal investigation was finished.

“Had they not resigned they would have been terminated,” the department said in a news release.

“In this case, three officers did not live up to the high standards of the Tucson Police Department,” Police Chief Chris Magnus said in the news release. “The vast, vast majority of our officers do their jobs well and responsibly and are rightfully disturbed and dismayed by any statements to the contrary.”

The Pima County medical examiner conducted an autopsy and attributed Ingram-Lopez's death to sudden cardiac arrest with acute cocaine intoxication, physical restraint and an enlarged heart as contributing factors. The office's report, released Wednesday, listed the manner of death as "undetermined."

The medical exainer's report said he was restrained by police following "erratic behavior," and that he was restrained in a "prone position with a spit hood and became unresponsive." The report said he died despite CPR by emergency medical personnel.

The police news release said Ingram-Lopez was restrained in handcuffs at the time.

“No blows, strikes, chokeholds, knee to the neck or chemical or electronic weapons were used. No shots were fired,” it said.

Romero, in a news release, said the video left her feeling “deeply anguished and troubled by what I saw.

“I want to assure our community that there will be a thorough and transparent investigation,” she said.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the video the mayor saw was from a police body camera or some other source.

TPD said nothing publicly about the death at the time it occurred. Information was not disclosed earlier because it could have jeopardized any potential disciplinary actions against the officers involved, had they not resigned, the department news release said.

The mayor and Magnus have scheduled a news conference for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday to provide further details.

Ingram-Lopez's family is expected to view the video and receive a police briefing prior to the news conference, the mayor said.

One city council member has already publicly accused police of killing the man.

Earlier Tuesday, Ward 1 council member Lane Santa Cruz said in a Facebook post Tuesday that she planned to boycott the now-canceled council meeting over the “death of one of our community members at the hands of Tucson police officers.”

“This horrible incident of police violence has brought the national debate to the doorstep of Tucson City Hall,” she said.

The death occurred about a month before George Floyd was killed on May 25 by Minneapolis police officers, sparking nationwide protests, including in Tucson, about race and police brutality.

A spokesman for Santa Cruz, Antonio Ramirez, would not answer questions about his boss’s Facebook post.

Romero said city leaders “can and must do better” to ensure police reform takes place.

She called for the council to move quickly “to adopt reforms and effective policy changes with input from our community.”