#Tucson police chief offers resignation over death of man in custody

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Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus, right, speaks as Mayor Regina Romero listens during a press conference today.
AP

An Arizona police chief offered his resignation on Wednesday at a press conference that revealed details of an arrest that led to the death of a man in police custody.

Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus made the gesture after apologizing for his department’s delay in publicly releasing information about the April 21 death of 27-year-old Carlos Ingram Lopez, The Arizona Republic reported.

“To demonstrate my willingness to take accountability for these mistakes, I am offering my resignation to the Mayor, City Council, and City Manager, which they can accept or handle as they view appropriate,” Magnus said.

Video of Ingram Lopez’s fatal encounter with three Tucson police officers — who have since resigned — was played at Wednesday’s press conference, capturing the man telling officers he couldn’t breathe and repeatedly asking for water, according to the newspaper.

Police reportedly responded to Lopez’s grandmother’s house on a call the man was “drunk, yelling and running around the house naked,” Magnus said Wednesday.

The police body-cam footage shows the officers chase Lopez into the garage, where they cuffed him and placed him face down, according to the report.

Lopez, visibly distressed, could be heard yelling, “I’m sorry,” crying and breathing heavily.

“Relax, alright? Relax,” an officer told him. “You’re going to get shocked,” another cop said.

After losing consciousness, cops administered Narcan on Lopez — believing he was suffering from a drug overdose, and did CPR, but Lopez couldn’t be saved.

Lopez was being detained for a total of 12 minutes before dying.

“In the video we see a person who is clearly distressed, asking for water, asking for help, asking for his nana,” Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said at Wednesday’s press conference.

“Now we must center the conversation on police accountability and transparency.”

The mayor said she has not yet made a decision on if she will accept Magnus’ resignation.

The three cops that resigned have not been criminally charged, though the Pima County Attorney’s is investigating the incident.

The chief said he also asked the FBI to review the case.

Also on Wednesday, the Pima County Medical Examiner released Lopez’s autopsy report, which concluded he died of “sudden cardiac arrest in the setting of acute cocaine intoxication and physical restraint.”