Chicago Man Dies in Police Custody after Scuffle

A 31-year-old Chicago man, who flagged down a police car in front of the downtown bus terminal, died in custody after struggling with four San Diego police officers early Monday.

Police said Tony Steele had been disturbing other passengers at the downtown Greyhound bus terminal at 4 a.m. Monday by jumping up and down and yelling: “They’re after me! They’re after me!”

Steele ran into the middle of Broadway and flagged down Police Sgt. Dawn Summers, authorities said. A Greyhound security guard told Summers that Steele had been acting strangely and causing problems in the terminal, police said.

Summers reportedly called for a backup when she couldn’t get Steele out of the street. Three other officers arrived, and, when they began to handcuff him, he started fighting, police said. Steele eventually was subdued with handcuffs and leg restraints, they said.

Steele, who weighed more than 200 pounds, was reportedly carried into the back of a patrol car and taken to the psychiatric hospital of county Mental Health Services, a three-minute ride. Homicide Lt. Dan Berglund said officers did not use a carotid restraint, or pressure hold, on his neck.

County employees brought a gurney, and Steele wasn’t breathing, police said. Police and staff members tried to resuscitate him, but could not, they said. He was taken to Sharp Cabrillo Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The county medical examiner’s office said Steele used dozens of aliases. They are referring to him as “John Doe” and are scheduled to perform an autopsy on him today.

Homicide Lt. Dan Berglund said the medical examiner has already determined that Steele had no trauma to his body at the time he died and is now looking at toxicology tests to check for drugs in his system.

A spokesman for the medical examiner’s office would not confirm whether any tests had been performed.

Police got the name Tony Steele from an identification card and said that he had been scheduled to see a doctor in Chicago on Wednesday, Berglund said.