Man Apprehended by Huntington Police Dies

A 37-year-old man died Sunday after jumping from a second-story motel balcony and struggling with officers who had been trying to apprehend him, police said.

The man, whose last known address was in Cypress, was not named pending notification of his death to relatives.

Police responding to a robbery alarm Sunday afternoon at the Friendship Inn in the 18000 block Beach Boulevard said they found the man standing naked on a second-story balcony. Officers ordered the man to come down, but he refused, Huntington Beach Lt. Charles R. Poe said in a news release.

As officers tried to corner the man on the balcony, he jumped and landed on a parked car below, crushing the car’s roof and shattering its rear window, Poe said.

Police said the man, whom they described as being aggressive toward pursuing officers, then took off running across Beach Boulevard. Officers sprayed the man with pepper spray, but he continued running, Poe said.

The man finally dropped to one knee, where he was pinned down by the officers and eventually handcuffed, Poe said.

Once in handcuffs, medics noticed he was having trouble breathing and took him to Huntington Beach Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, Poe said.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the death.