Suspect’s Cause of Death to Be Announced
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office is expected today to release the cause of death of a 41-year-old man who died after he was pepper-sprayed while fighting with police officers investigating a domestic dispute, authorities said Sunday.
Dexter Pledger of Lake View Terrace died Thursday at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, where he was taken by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics following a scuffle with police in the 11800 block of Foothill Boulevard, authorities said.
Pledger was taken to the hospital to be treated for the pepper spray and a cut on his scalp, police said. Pledger went into cardiac arrest at the hospital and died, police said.
The case remained under investigation late Sunday by the LAPD’s Robbery/Homicide Division, which investigates all deaths of police prisoners.
The incident began about 8:30 p.m. Thursday, when LAPD Officers Kevin Hawkins, 37, and Julie Carpenter, 33, responded to a domestic dispute, police said.
A woman at the house pointed to Pledger as he was running away, and Hawkins and Carpenter chased after him, police said. Hawkins caught Pledger, who fought with the officer, and Carpenter pepper-sprayed him, police said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
