LAPD Investigating Death of Suspect After Arrest

Police are investigating the death of a 29-year-old drug suspect who suffered a cardiac arrest and died after his arrest over the weekend, police said Monday.

Lt. W. D. Hall, who heads the Police Department’s officer-involved shooting section, said Charles Robinson, 29, and another man, who was not identified, were arrested Saturday by Officers Kenneth Harrison, 23, and Dino Rubi, 25, in South Los Angeles.

The officers told investigators they suspected Robinson had rock cocaine in his mouth but refused to spit it out. The officers called their supervisor, Sgt. Greg Hancock, who repeated the order, but Robinson became agitated, Hall said, and police “placed him on the ground,” and used leg restraints until an ambulance arrived. Robinson died at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center. An autopsy is scheduled, Hall said.