Cops Not To Blame For Harlem Man's Death In NYPD Custody, AG Says

EAST HARLEM, NY — Police officers will not face criminal charges for the 2018 death of an East Harlem man who stopped breathing after being placed in handcuffs and put on the ground of his apartment floor, New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced.

The attorney general's office conducted an investigation into the conduct the officers who arrested Edwin William Garcia Lopez on May 27, 2018 and found that police did not violate New York Penal Law, according to a report released this month by the office's special investigations and prosecutions unit.

Officers arrested Garcia Lopez after arriving at his building to find him struggling with his roommate and his brother inside his apartment, according to the report. Police were responding to the building for a call of an "emotionally disturbed person" who was acting erratically and fighting with his roommates.

During the arrest, police walked Garcia Lopez out of his apartment into a building stairwell where he began to struggle with officers, according to the attorney general's report. Officers forced the man to the floor as he kicked at them and requested aid from the NYPD's Emergency Services Unit to help take the man down the stairs. During the struggle, a police officer kicked Garcia Lopez three times while he was downed, according to the report.

Shortly after placing Garcia Lopez on the ground, police officers noticed the man was turning blue and released him from his handcuffs, according to the attorney general's investigation. Police started performing chest compressions before handing Garcia Lopez over to EMTs at the scene, who rushed the man to Metropolitan Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to the report.

City medical examiners later determined that Garcia Lopez died due to acute cocaine intoxication and ruled the death as an accident. The medical examiner's autopsy revealed a number of cardiac issues suffered by Garcia Lopez at the time of his death and did not note any severe physical injuries.

The Attorney General's office came to its conclusion that police did not violate the law by reviewing surveillance footage of the arrest as well as interviews with witnesses, police who responded to the scene and EMTs who worked to revive Garcia Lopez. Investigators also reviewed NYPD case files, Garcia Lopez's hospital records, the medical examiner's report and recordings of the 911 call that brought police to the East Harlem apartment building.

Despite finding that police did not violate the law, Attorney General Letitia James found some officers' conduct to be "troubling," according to the report. The report singles out the officer who kicked Garcia Lopez while he was downed and was seen "laughing seconds later while Mr. Garcia Lopez was drawing his last breaths of life." James recommended that the NYPD consider disciplinary measures against the officer

"The death of Edwin William Garcia Lopez was a tragedy, and I extend my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. The Special Investigations and Prosecutions Unit is committed to executing comprehensive and exhaustive investigations, and this incident is no exception," James said in a statement.