Drug Overdose Called Cause of Prisoner’s Death

A 31-year-old Mira Mesa man’s death in October while in police custody has been attributed by the district attorney’s office to a drug overdose.

In a report to the San Diego chief of police after a five-month investigation, Dist. Atty. Edwin Miller said that Kourush Kamyaran’s death was caused by “acute cocaine intoxication.”

“We have reviewed the investigative reports and materials. . . . We conclude that Kamyaran died of natural causes associated with use of cocaine,” Miller said.

According to the document, which was released earlier this month, witnesses reported that Kamyaran entered police headquarters Oct. 12 and said, “Jesus save me . . . Lord Allah,” adding that people were chasing him.

Detective Alan J. Rubin handcuffed Kamyaran because of his behavior, authorities said. He was later tied with a “cord cuff” wrapped around his ankles and attached to the handcuffs, after he bolted out the door to chase a man who had entered the police station.

After placing Kamyaran in a patrol car to be taken to the hospital for a mental evaluation, officers noticed that he was bleeding from a cut on his head. Police suspect that he was injured while struggling with officers when they tried to put him in the patrol car. The officers said he had stopped breathing after arriving at UC San Diego Medical Center.

Witnesses who knew Kamyaran reported that he was a drug user, authorities said.

“Kamyaran took an overdose of cocaine under circumstances which cannot be determined,” the report said. “This led to his acute cocaine intoxication and apparently precipitated his voluntary contact with the San Diego police officers, who then reasonably tried to restrain him to prevent injury to himself or others. . . . Kamyaran’s action was to resist violently and uncontrollably, a response which probably contributed to the sudden failure of his heart and ultimately his death.”