Pacoima : Alleged Drug User Dies After Arrest
A 41-year-old man, believed to be under the influence of cocaine and alcohol, died after violently resisting arrest Monday evening, forcing officers to use leg restraints as well as handcuffs, police said Tuesday.
Charles Crisp died at Valley Presbyterian Hospital, where he was taken after becoming ill in the Van Nuys jail, police said. Crisp arrived at the Van Nuys hospital with a high fever and rapid heart rate and died shortly afterward, police and hospital officials said.
Crisp, who police said was 6-foot-8 and weighed 280 pounds, crashed his car into a house in the 10600 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, police said. When paramedics arrived, Crisp apparently refused treatment and two police patrol cars arrived to help.
Because of his behavior, officers used “rip hobble leg restraints”--a new type of device that keeps the legs straight. “The legs stay stationary,” said Lt. Anthony Alba, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman. “They can’t turn over . . . and they can’t kick.”
Once at the jail, Crisp was given a medical examination and shortly thereafter taken to the hospital because of his apparent combined alcohol and drug use.
Police from the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division are investigating the incident.
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