Officials: Man In Custody Threw Punches At Deputies Before Dying Unexpectedly

LAKE LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Los Angeles County deputies say a man in custody died unexpectedly after throwing punches at deputies in the Lake Los Angeles area.

The incident unfolded on East 160th Street around 4:30 p.m. Saturday as deputies responded in search of a man suspected of making felony threats.

Officials say deputies encountered the suspect in his own backyard and asked him to put his hands behind his back. The man appeared to be compliant but as deputies moved in, it was then that officials say the man started swinging and struck one of the deputies in the face.

Once on the ground, officials say the suspect then got on top of him. A second deputy deployed the use of a Taser, which didn't appear to have any effect. The suspect then punched the second deputy, according to authorities.

A neighbor intervened to assist deputies, who eventually got handcuffs on the suspect, who appeared to become calm and his breathing became labored.

Deputies tried to administer CPR but the man did not survive. Officials say deputies struck the suspect though his cause of death remains unknown at this time.

"When the suspect was straddling the suspect on the ground, the deputy behind him was striking him in the back to try to get him off the deputy," said Lt. Derrick Alfred of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Neighbors of the suspect described as a man in his 40s said he had been there for many years and always seemed pleasant. Over the course of the last few months, they indicated that they thought the man was "acting odd."

Both deputies were injured and were transported to the hospital. They are expected to be OK.