Report Says Death Not Due to Pepper Spray

An Oxnard man who died last month shortly after police subdued him with pepper spray had cocaine in his system, a coroner’s report concluded.

Ray Lee Carter’s death was attributed to an irregular heartbeat, an inadequate air supply and cocaine in his blood, said Chief Deputy Coroner Jim Wingate, who said toxicology tests completed Monday concluded that Carter’s death May 6 was not due to the pepper spray.

Oxnard Police Chief Harold Hurtt would not comment on the case because of the possibility of civil litigation.

Told of the report’s conclusions, Carter’s niece, Sheila Boyd, doubted its accuracy, saying she had never known her uncle to use cocaine.

“I believe that the police contributed to his death and I’ll always believe that,” Boyd said.

Experts who have studied pepper spray-related deaths have concluded that factors such as drug or alcohol use increase the risk of a severe reaction to the spray, particularly for those who are very heavy. The 40-year-old Carter was 6 feet, 2 inches and weighed 280 pounds, police said.

In May, Carter was sprayed and placed in handcuffs after he lashed out at an officer who attempted to talk to him as he staggered along Elsinore Avenue, muttering and disoriented, police said.

Carter’s relatives say it was the excessive use of pepper spray that killed Carter.