THE BRONX — A 55-year-old emotionally disturbed man collapsed and died in police custody while he was possibly high on drugs Wednesday, according to the NYPD.
Officers first encountered Richard Gonzales inside 416 E. 137th St. on March 16 after his 59-year-old wife called to say that he was high and throwing objects around his apartment, police said.
She told officers a little after 7 p.m. that her husband was acting violently in their third-floor apartment, and Gonzales then stepped out of the home and tried to yank her back inside, according to police.
The officers intervened and there was a brief struggle before they were able to handcuff Gonzales.
Then about one minute later, he “went limp” and collapsed, an NYPD spokesman said.
He was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The investigation is ongoing, and the medical examiner will determine his cause of death, police said.
