Mayor: Council Meeting Postponed After TPD In-Custody Death

TUCSON, AZ — Tucson Mayor Regina Romero canceled Tuesday afternoon's City Council meeting after seeing video footage of a person who died while in the custody of the Tucson Police Department. Police said the death happened during an early morning arrest on April 21.

In a statement, Romero said she feels it's inappropriate to carry on usual businesses matters after the incident.

Romero said the city has not yet shared information about the victim or the incident out of respect for the family's wishes. More details will be released in a police news conference Wednesday after the family views footage of the death.

"I want to assure our community that there will be a thorough and transparent investigation," Romero wrote.

The mayor said she will encourage the council to swiftly reform police policy with community input.

"We can and must do better," Romero said in her statement.

The office of Council Member Lane Santa Cruz addressed the death in a statement on Facebook.

"I will not participate in the Mayor & Council meeting today because of the tragedy and death of one of our community members at the hands of Tucson police officers," the statement read. "I do not take my responsibilities as a council member lightly, and I cannot, in good conscience, sit by and conduct business as usual without addressing this tragedy."

Santa Cruz said she will soon move to repeal Ordinance 11746, which restricts people from "physically entering crime scenes or areas immediately surrounding where such enforcement activity, investigations, and other police-related activities are taking place."

The ordinance was intended to cut back on "First Amendment auditing," the practice of filming on public property or around police stations to catch officials violating residents' First Amendment right to film or take photographs on public property.

Tucson's ordinance was met with significant backlash online by social media users who believed the ordinance outlawed the filming of police.

Although the ordinance recognizes that "the public has a clear right to free speech and to record police activities that take place in public," Santa Cruz said she thinks moving forward without community input was a mistake.

"Meaningful changes should involve an examination of this incident, the police department's practices in general, and how we can most strategically use our public resources for the greatest good," she said on Facebook.

Council Member Steve Kozachik told KOLD News 13 he agrees with the decision to postpone the meeting "until TPD leadership has had an opportunity to meet with them privately and review the case,” he said. “Inflaming the situation prior to all of the facts being made public, especially given the national conversation related to police activity, is a disservice to everybody involved in this case."

In a release, Tucson police said three TPD officers involved in the arrest resigned before an investigation into the death could be completed. The officers would have been terminated had they not resigned, police said.

According to the statement, the Pima County Medical Examiner said the person's death was the result of "sudden cardiac arrest, with acute cocaine intoxication and an enlarged heart."

Police said the person was restrained in handcuffs at the time of the death, but had not been struck, choked, knelt upon, or attacked with any weapons.

“In this case, three officers did not live up to the high standards of the Tucson Police Department. They are no longer employed here,” TPD chief Christopher Magnus said in a statement. “The vast, vast majority of our officers do their jobs well and responsibly and are rightfully disturbed and dismayed by any statements to the contrary. I continue to have the utmost confidence in the men and women of our police department.”