Coroner’s Report Still Out on Cause of Death of Kidnaping Suspect : Crime: Officers say a fight broke out when they attempted to arrest the man inside a Pacoima house.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office had not determined on Tuesday what caused the death of a kidnaping suspect who stopped breathing after a struggle with police.

Jose Luis Hernandez, 31, of Madera died on arrival at Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley shortly after 1 a.m. Monday, said Lt. William Hall of the Los Angeles Police Department’s robbery-homicide division.

Police had captured Hernandez because they suspected him of stealing a car and kidnaping two women and two children at knifepoint on a Pacoima street.

Hall said that the struggle broke out after police spotted Hernandez and chased him into a house in the 10300 block of Omelveny Avenue. When officers cornered him in a back bedroom, they said, Hernandez had tied the arms of a sweat shirt around his neck and was pulling on the sleeves while yelling “kill me” at the officers, Hall said.

Officer James Kuklok, 32, then tried to arrest Hernandez, who was not armed. A violent struggle broke out and Kuklok was forced onto a bed as Hernandez tried to grab the officer’s pistol, Hall said.

Two other officers, Eugene Damiani, 25, and Donald Walthers, 33, then joined in the scuffle, and eventually handcuffed Hernandez.

At that point, the officers noticed that Hernandez had stopped struggling, Hall said.

“The officers checked to see if the suspect was still breathing and discovered that he was not,” said Hall. “They also noted that the sweat shirt was still tightly affixed around the suspect’s neck.”

The officers removed the sweat shirt, administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation and called for paramedics, who took Hernandez to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Kuklok was bitten on the thumb by the suspect during the fight and was treated at a hospital, Hall said.

Police Cmdr. Robert Gil said that privacy laws prevent him from disclosing whether any disciplinary action has ever been taken against the three officers. However, he said that none has had a board of rights administrative hearing, an in-house appeals process against disciplinary action.

Kuklok and Damiani have been with the Police Department for three years, and Walthers has been on the force for 2 1/2 years.

The incident began shortly after midnight Monday when the women and children were in a vehicle stopped at Glenoaks Boulevard and Corcoran Street in Pacoima, police said. Hernandez allegedly forced his way into the vehicle and, at knifepoint, demanded money from the women.

He drove off with the four victims, but he freed them a few blocks away. They reported the incident to police. Shortly afterward, helicopter officers spotted the vehicle and saw Hernandez run into a house.

Officers surrounded the home and ordered the occupants out. Four people came out and told them that the man had forced his way inside. Officers discovered him in the rear yard and saw him run into a rear bedroom, where the fight with police occurred.