A man who died while in police custody early Tuesday likely overdosed, Tucson's police chief said.
Around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, officers responded to a report of a man moving things around and talking to himself in the back yard an elderly man's midtown home in the 5400 block of East Waverly St., Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus said in a news conference.
Three officers found Jesus Gilberto Gutierrez, 29, on the ground moving but unresponsive.
A man who died while in police custody early Tuesday morning likely overdosed, police said. Read more here: http://tucne.ws/1fjd
Magnus shared officer body cam footage of the incident during the news conference.
Officers hold Gutierrez on his side and rub his sternum to try to keep him conscious.
"Stay with us," an officer tells Gutierrez.
Gutierrez was placed on his side and an officer called for paramedics after noticing Gutierrez's labored breathing.
Officers then handcuffed Gutierrez and administered two doses of Narcan, a medication used to reverse the effect of opioid overdose. While Narcan only helps reverse an opioid overdose, it has no negative effects on a person who has taken a different kind of drug.
Magnus said handcuffing Gutierrez protected him and the officers, as it's common for people coming out of opioid overdoses to become combative.
A fourth officer arrived and helped carry Gutierrez to the front of the house. When they placed him on the ground, officers realized he didn't have a pulse.
They take off his handcuffs and began CPR until paramedics arrive and continue CPR. Gutierrez was pronounced dead at the scene at almost 3 a.m.
Drug paraphernalia was found in the back yard along with what was believed to be Gutierrez's medication that helps reverse an opioid overdose, Magnus said.
The City Council said it would require the police department to quickly publicize any in-custody death going forward after not making public for two months the death of Carlos "Adrian" Ingram-Lopez, who died on April 21.
His family on Tuesday filed a wrongful death claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, against the city and three former Tucson police officers for a total of $19 million.
The Aug. 4 incident will be under a criminal investigation and an administrative investigation, Magnus said. While the outcome was "tragic," he said the officers' actions were proper.
"I thought they demonstrated compassion toward him," Magnus said.
Magnus said drug overdose deaths are a problem that commands attentionin Pima County. He said 213 overdose deaths have been reported through July 14 this year.
The Pima County Health Department is projecting 380 overdose deaths by the end of the year. The department reported 190 overdose deaths through part of the second quarter of the year, with 106 of the 190 deaths within the second quarter of the year.
The county health department reported 337 overdose deaths in 2019 and 286 the two years prior.
Most of the overdose deaths the county health department has reported are a result of fentanyl use, with methamphetamine being the second most common drug that led to overdose deaths, according to county health department data.
