Delaware
49-year-old dies by suicide while held in Delaware State Police cell
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A 49-year-old Hartly man died after hanging himself in a holding cell at Delaware State Police Troop 3 in Camden, authorities said.
“Video surveillance confirmed that while detained alone in a temporary holding cell at Troop 3, [the suspect] used a shoelace to commit suicide by hanging,” state police said in a May 28 statement. “When troopers found [him], they attempted lifesaving efforts, but he was pronounced dead a short time later.”
Police did not immediately respond to a late May 28 email seeking information on custody protocols or whether the suspect appeared suicidal.
In a May 28 press release, police said troopers were responding to a report of a domestic assault at a home on Misty Way in the Hartly-area about 8 p.m. on May 27.
Before troopers arrived, they were notified that the man had left the residence in his girlfriend’s vehicle. Police said he had an active arrest warrant stemming from a previous incident at the same location on May 22.
The vehicle was spotted by a Delaware State Police helicopter and a chase began, police said.
The chase crossed into Maryland, then returned to Delaware before ending at the residence on Misty Way, police said.
There, police said he initially refused orders to get out of the vehicle, and when he finally did, he resisted further orders from troopers.
Police said he assaulted a DSP canine they deployed. When he was eventually taken into custody, police took him to an area hospital for evaluation of injuries sustained from the dog apprehension.
The Hartly man was released from the hospital on the morning of May 28 and taken to Troop 3, where police said he was charged with several crimes, including strangulation for the May 22 incident and resisting arrest with violence and second-degree assault on a law enforcement animal for the May 27 incident.
Police said he hanged himself while being held at Troop 3, but did not specify when it occurred.
The Delaware State Police Homicide Unit, along with the Delaware Department of Justice’s Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust, are investigating.
Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com. This is a developing story. Return to delawareonline.com for updates.