Man dies in Elk Grove police custody at hospital after struggle with officers

A man involved in a struggle with officers while being detained Thursday in Elk Grove died a short time later at a hospital, authorities said. The incident is being investigated as an in-custody death.

Police dispatch received a request for assistance around 1 p.m. from Cosumnes Fire Department personnel for assistance, the Elk Grove Police Department said in a news release. The call involved a man who was “acting erratic and standing outside of a vehicle stopped in the roadway” near Laguna Park and Seasons drives.

Officers and a crisis team including a mental health clinician responded, the Police Department said.

Police said the man resisted officers as they tried to detain him and that during the struggle, he kicked officers and a “physical confrontation continued down to the ground.” Officers eventually handcuffed the man.

“While handcuffed and seated on the ground, the male intentionally hit his head on the concrete,” the Police Department wrote in the news release.

The man then resisted and kicked an officer again, police wrote. Officers placed him in a safe restraint device, called a WRAP, and fire personnel transported him to a hospital for medical clearance prior to jail booking.

“While at the hospital, the male remained alert, conscious and speaking,” police wrote. “At approximately 2:45 p.m., while still at the hospital, the male suffered an unknown medical emergency.”

Despite life-saving efforts by hospital staff, the man was pronounced dead.

The Elk Grove Police Department says it will conduct an internal investigation, and the in-custody death will also be reviewed by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.

The man’s identity will be released by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office pending notification of family.

No officers were injured during the struggle, the department said.