Man Dies After Police Tussle
Homicide investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will be probing the death of a 39-year-old man who apparently suffered cardiac arrest in an ambulance early Saturday after being tackled and handcuffed by Maywood police responding to a domestic violence report.
Juan Frank Colato was acting as if he “were mentally ill or under the influence of drugs” when three Maywood Police Department officers arrived outside the house on East 54th Street, according to a sheriff’s statement. After the officers subdued him, paramedics were taking Colato to St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood for observation when he appeared to go into cardiac arrest, said Sgt. Rich Erickson of the Sheriff’s Department.
Erickson said all aspects of the incident, including possible use of force by the officers, would be investigated.
Maywood police said the officers did nothing wrong and remain on duty.
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.
