Cause of Death of Man in Police Custody Still Unknown

The county medical examiner’s office could not immediately determine what caused the death of a mentally disturbed man who stopped breathing shortly after he was taken into police custody, authorities said Tuesday.

Perry L. Smith, 41, of Southeast San Diego, died Monday about 7 p.m., shortly after police subdued him in front of a grocery store on El Cajon Boulevard.

Police responded to complaints of a man flinging cans of food around the store as he shouted for help, the owner of the store said.

“The man just started to run around the store yelling, ‘Call 911! Call 911!’ ” said Duong Kien, 50, the store owner. “He got a can of food in each hand and he kept running, running. He said he wanted someone to help him.”

Smith continuously repeated the request for 911 as he shattered half a dozen flower pots and upset several shelves of groceries, using cans as projectiles, Duong said. The damage was about $100, he said.

Smith was “ranting and yelling” that unidentified people were trying to kill him, Police Lt. Paul Ybarrondo said.

When police arrived at the Vinh Hung Market in the 4600 block of El Cajon Boulevard, Smith ran from the store and the disturbance spilled into the street.

After a five-minute chase, police wrestled Smith to the ground in the middle of El Cajon Boulevard. Six officers responded to the call, Ybarrondo said. At least one officer struck Smith behind the knees with nunchaku sticks to help bring him down.

“This was all occurring in the middle of two traffic lanes with cars streaming by,” Ybarrondo said. “He was resisting violently.”

Smith was held face down on the street as his hands were cuffed behind his back, Ybarrondo said. At this point, Smith stopped struggling, the lieutenant said.

“The officers rolled him over and realized he had stopped breathing,” Ybarrondo said.

When he arrived at Alvarado Hospital Medical Center, Smith had no heartbeat and was not breathing, said Tom Berger, a hospital spokesman.

Dr. Harry Bonnell, the chief deputy medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Smith, said the 6-foot, 250 pound man had a scrape on his forehead, probably suffered while he was being wrestled to the ground. Bonnell said the wound was superficial and that Smith did not appear to have serious injuries. He also did not appear to die of asphyxiation, Bonnell said.

Police said officers appeared to have been acting within department restraints for use of force to subdue a suspect.

“At this point there is no indication of unnecessary force,” Ybarrondo said. “Officers did everything they could do within reason to control him and handcuff him, which is proper procedure.”

The medical examiner’s office planned to conduct further tests.