Coroner: Vegas man died in handcuffs from meth intoxication
LAS VEGAS (AP) — An autopsy found that a 50-year-old Las Vegas man had methamphetamine in his system when he died in police custody after telling officers handcuffing him on the ground that he couldn't breathe.
Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg issued a statement Thursday saying "prone restraint" by police contributed to Byron Lee Williams' death following a foot chase Sept. 5.
The coroner says Williams also had heart and lung diseases and high blood pressure.
Police said in September that Williams was able to talk when he was lifted to his feet during his arrest by officers Benjamin Vasquez and Patrick Campbell.
Officials said Williams didn't have a weapon, but he dropped plastic bags of methamphetamine and a bottle containing hydrocodone pills before becoming unconscious and being pronounced dead at a hospital.