Sheriff’s office: Arrestee vomits suspected narcotics in back of patrol unit, dies later at hospital in Louisiana

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Jefferson Parish deputies say an arrested suspect is dead after an apparent medical episode on Wednesday evening.

Sheriff Joseph Lopinto reports that the incident started when a deputy was transporting the arrestee to the Jefferson Parish Correction Center and noticed the suspect to be in some kind of ‘medical distress.’

The deputy then contacted EMS to do a medical check-up on the arrestee before entering the facility, but when the deputy arrived, he realized the suspect had vomited in the backseat of the patrol unit. JPSO says the vomit contained ‘bundles’ of what were believed to have been narcotics.

The arrestee was taken to an area hospital where he later died. It is unknown how long the arrestee was in JPSO custody before his death.

The identity of the suspect has been withheld until an autopsy is conducted and toxicology samples are analyzed. The Jefferson Parish Coroner will then determine a cause of death.