A man died while being taken into custody at the Vista Detention Facility on Sunday.
The incident started shortly before midnight Sunday. Deputies responded to a call on Birmingham Drive in Cardiff, and they arrested a man for being under the influence of a controlled substance.
In a press release, the Sheriff’s Department says deputies applied a WRAP restraint after the man began kicking and flailing against officers. The device binds the legs and wrists together while keeping a person sitting in an upright position.
Deputies called for paramedics, and when they arrived, the man stopped breathing and lost consciousness. He died at the hospital early Sunday morning.
Why it matters
Jail safety advocates say this is the fourth in-custody death so far this year.
Safe Restraints, maker of the WRAP restraint, claims on its website the device saves lives and reduces injuries. As of 2018, the device was used by nearly every agency in San Diego County.
Yusef Miller, of the North County Equity and Justice Coalition, said it’s not as safe as it claims.
“It is very problematic, especially when it comes to concerns of asphyxiation. And that's what this incident yesterday, it really brings back and haunts us memories of what happened to Earl McNeil in National City.”
McNeil’s case in 2018 called into question police restraint protocol after he went to the National City Police Department seeking help in the middle of a mental health crisis. In 2021, National City approved a $300,000 settlement with the McNeil family.
Paul Parker, executive director of the Citizens' Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB), said the WRAP restraint isn't something officers automatically go to.
"I would think that they tried other methods to control to keep this person under control, and that didn't work — that would be my assumption," he said.
Looking ahead
Per a countywide agreement, the case will be investigated by the San Diego Police Department as well as CLERB.
Parker said it will take some time for the investigation to be completed. He said CLERB will look at what happened from the very beginning until the end, including the placement of the WRAP device.
"We haven't investigated any deaths off the top of my head that involved any kind of restraint device since Mr. McNeil," Parker said. "So this is obviously going to be something that we are going to be focused on throughout the course of our investigation to see if this played any way, shape or form in this gentleman's death."
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the North County Equity and Justice Coalition will hold a news conference at the Vista Detention Facility to bring attention to the growing number of in-custody deaths. Miller said, so far this year, San Diego County has had four in-custody deaths — Los Angeles County, which has three times the population, has five so far this year.
"That means San Diego's death rate is higher," he said.
Miller also questioned whether the Sheriff's Department involved the Mobile Crisis Response Team, which specifically supports people experiencing a behavioral health crisis. The police statement does not mention any involvement from that team.
