Suspect Dies Shortly After Handcuffing

A San Diego man died shortly after police handcuffed him for behaving erratically in East San Diego, police said Thursday.

Charles Wayne Connor, 31, who lived on Kika Court in Rancho Penasquitos, was pronounced dead at 3:15 a.m. Thursday at Villa View Hospital, the county medical examiner’s office said. Connor was taken by paramedics to the hospital after he stopped breathing during his arrest, police spokesman Bill Robinson said.

About 2:15 a.m., police responded to a call that Connor and a woman were fighting in the 4200 block of Altadena Avenue, Robinson said. Before police arrived, Connor had forced his way into a home on Altadena, then attempted to dive through a closed window to get out of the house, Robinson said.

Connor, wearing only a pair of shorts, then walked south on Altadena and tried to enter a gated apartment complex, Robinson said. Failing that, he picked up a 3-foot-long stick and threw it through the window of a house next door, according to police.

When police caught up to Connor in the 5000 block of Orange Avenue, he was behaving erratically and appeared to be under the influence of drugs, Robinson said. It took six police officers to control Connor and handcuff him, he said.

Once handcuffed, Connor began having difficulty breathing and paramedics were called, Robinson said. Before they arrived, Connor, who was never placed in a police car, stopped breathing, and officers began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, he said.

The officers did not strike Connor, nor was a carotid restraint applied, Robinson said, adding that the Police Department will release the names of the officers involved later.

An autopsy was planned.