Agencies Cleared in Deaths of 2 Men : Law enforcement: The district attorney’s office urges the Sheriff’s Department and CHP to reexamine methods used to subdue suspects.

Two Ventura County law enforcement agencies were cleared of wrongdoing in the cases of two men who died while under the influence of drugs in their custody, the district attorney’s office announced Wednesday.

But the district attorney’s office urged those agencies and others to reexamine the ways that they subdue suspects because the coroner’s office believes that restraints used by officers might have contributed to the men’s deaths, Dep. Dist. Atty. Kevin J. McGee said.

William Allen Orrante died of a cocaine overdose Aug. 14 while in the custody of the Sheriff’s Department, and Victor Nelson Leith died of a methamphetamine overdose April 14 while under supervision of the California Highway Patrol, according to reports released by the district attorney’s office.

But Assistant Coroner Craig O’Halloran said in both cases that suffocation due to the positions of the bodies might have contributed to the deaths. Respiration is sometimes affected when people are placed face-down with their arms and legs restrained behind their backs, O’Halloran said in the reports.

O’Halloran said such a position places the bulk of an individual’s weight on the chest and abdomen and stretches the chest muscles used to breathe. The effects are compounded in intoxicated or agitated people, who have already been struggling and are having difficulty breathing, McGee said.

“We just want them to be aware of the concerns and evaluate how they’re handling the situation,” McGee said of the law enforcement agencies in the county.

McGee said several counties in Southern California have adopted policies of transporting people in such restraints on their sides so breathing is easier or having an officer constantly monitor their breathing.

The report said Leith died April 14 of an overdose of methamphetamine, after he was found by CHP officers along the Santa Paula Freeway east of Briggs Road, the report said.

Leith had left his car after it crashed into the highway median. The crash occurred after Leith’s stepson became alarmed by Leith’s erratic driving, turned off the car’s ignition and steered it toward the center divider.

Officers and civilians talked Leith into sitting on the guardrail, the report said. But he jumped up and dove toward the traffic lanes and a struggle ensued. A CHP officer then restrained him, the report said.

Leith then went into cardiac arrest and resuscitation was begun. Leith was pronounced dead about an hour later, the report said.

The CHP has notified officers of the coroner’s concerns. But Lt. Al Bowers said the restraints used are left to the officers’ discretion.

The Sheriff’s Department has looked at different methods of restraining suspects and has produced a training video on restraints, Richard Bryce, assistant sheriff, said. He said, however, that the restraint used on Orrante may be used as a last resort if deputies cannot gain control of the suspect.

Sheriff’s deputies were notified of Orrante when they were called to a house in Saticoy about a man allegedly experiencing a violent reaction to cocaine. After Orrante tried to kick out the windows of a patrol car, he was put in a restraint, the report said.

He was taken to the hospital, where it was found that he was not breathing. He was pronounced dead 30 minutes later, the report said.