Handcuffed Man Dies in Struggle With Police

A scuffle between Anaheim police officers and a 31-year-old Fullerton man who was reportedly raging under the influence of drugs ended when the handcuffed man died, police said.

Four officers and two witnesses wrestled with Fred Adolphis Jackson moments before his death, and one officer sprayed Jackson with pepper spray, said Police Lt. Ted LaBahn. One witness said Monday that Jackson was foaming at the mouth and incoherent when approached by police about 7:45 p.m. Sunday.

The Orange County district attorney has begun an investigation into the incident, routine procedure when a suspect dies in police custody. An autopsy was scheduled Monday, but LaBahn said toxicology results and determination of an exact cause of death may take weeks.

Officers were trying to arrest Jackson after residents at the Morocco Apartments, 2728 W. Yale Ave., complained that he was rampaging through their complex, trying to break down doors, LaBahn said.

A woman who spoke on the condition that she not be identified said that Jackson pulled off her screen door but calmed down when she tried to speak with him.

“He was under the influence of some controlled substance, you could tell, but he couldn’t talk, and he was having a hard time breathing,” she said.

“I don’t think he was trying to hurt anybody,” she said. “I think he wanted help.”

LaBahn said Jackson was waving part of the metal door frame above his head when first approached by officers, who briefly drew their weapons, LaBahn said. Jackson obeyed orders to drop the metal framing but resisted as officers tried to handcuff him, LaBahn said.

One officer used pepper spray, but it had no effect, he said. The four officers wrestled with the suspect, hoping to use their body weight to control him, he said.

“A dog pile may not look good from a distance, it may look unfair, but there are a couple of options there . . . if you don’t want to hurt the guy,” LaBahn said. “Piling on is a better approach than using a baton or gun.”

Two residents of the apartment building also jumped in to help the officers, who received minor bumps and bruises, LaBahn said.

After Jackson was cuffed, officers noticed that he was not breathing and had no pulse. They tried to revive him, as did firefighters who arrived shortly after, but Jackson was dead on arrival at Columbia West Anaheim Medical Center.