Authorities Monday publicly identified a 35-year-old man who died after being taken into police custody in the Middletown neighborhood early this month.
Dispatchers received several calls on Aug. 2 around 12:45 p.m. from people reporting that a man was "acting erratically," vandalizing a car and taking his clothes off near the intersection of Sassafras and Columbia streets, San Diego police Lt. Andra Brown said.
Officers arrived to find 35-year-old Donell Henderson, of San Diego, lying down in the street, Brown said.
The officers handcuffed him "due to his reported erratic behavior," but then determined he was in medical distress and removed the cuffs to perform CPR, the lieutenant said. Henderson was pronounced dead at the scene.
"The cause and manner of death will be determined by the (San Diego County) Medical Examiner's Office after toxicology testing is completed in the following weeks," Brown said.
