Death of man at US jail ruled a homicide
The death of a man who died shortly after being arrested in the lobby of a US jail has been ruled a homicide.
Joseph Hutchenson was arrested at the Dallas County Jail on August 1, after running into the lobby and shouting that his wife was trying to hurt him.
A 40-minutes surveillance video released last week shows the 48-year-old Arlington man frantically pacing and making people in the lobby very uncomfortable.
The video shows a few deputies following Hutcheson around the lobby, before one wrestles him onto the floor.
Two other deputies can then be seen piling onto Hutchenson, one of whom appears to press his knee into the man’s neck or throat for a long period of time.
Hutcheson kicks erratically for several minutes, before he eventually goes limp.
While the deputies appeared to prod Hutcheson after he stops responding, around 10 minutes passed before anyone administered CPR.
His death was ruled a homicide on Monday, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner.
The medical examiner stated that Hutcheson death was the result of the “combined toxic effects of cocaine and methamphetamine, combined by hypertensive cardiovascular disease and physiological stress associated with struggle and restraint.”
Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez released the video at a press conference on Friday after repeated demands from Hutcheson's family, News 8 reports.
She also gave more details on Hutcheson's whereabouts prior to the tragic incident, saying he had checked into a Dallas hospital about six hours before he arrived at the jail at 10:24am.
Hutcheson reportedly left the hospital against the advice of medical professionals.
Scott Palmer, an attorney for Hutcheson’s wife and mother, told Dallas News that the medical examiner’s findings and the video show that deputies “are responsible on some level for causing Mr. Hutcheson’s death.”
“It is apparent from the ruling that Mr. Hutcheson died at the hands of another,” he said in a written statement.
“We believe without the assault by the Sheriff’s deputies, Mr. Hutcheson would still be alive today.”
A full autopsy report is being conducted and the deputies involved in the incident will be reassigned to other duties until the investigation is completed.
News break - September 1'
