Man in Custody Dies at Hospital

A 37-year-old man who stopped breathing in the back seat of a patrol car Thursday after he was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance died later at a hospital, according to authorities.

The identity of the man was not immediately released pending notification of relatives, said Sgt. George Ducoulombier of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The man--a pedestrian--was stopped by deputies at about 4:30 p.m. in the 43000 block of 36th Street West, according to authorities.

The deputies arrested him on suspicion of being under the influence and put him in the patrol car, authorities said. When he stopped breathing, paramedics were called and took him to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The death was being investigated by the Sheriff’s Department’s homicide bureau, Ducoulombier said.