SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento Police released the name of a man who died in their custody after allegedly trespassing at Golden 1 Center in early July.
Mario Matthews died while receiving medical attention, the department said in a tweet. Golden 1 Center security officers were already working to arrest an “erratic” man when Sacramento police officers were called in around 3:30 a.m. July 2, 2019.
Security said Matthews, 39, was running inside the building, refusing their commands and appeared to be under the influence of drugs. He was already in custody when police arrived at the Golden 1 Center.
Though he was handcuffed, police said Mathews was thrashing around and struggling with them, so they used “maximum restraint” to get him under control. In some police departments, this technique is only allowed as a last resort.
Six days later, on July 8, 2019, the Sacramento Police Department announced Matthews “died while receiving medical treatment” sometime on the Fourth of July. So far, investigators have not released a cause of death.
When asked why it took four days to notify the media about the man’s death, a Sacramento Police spokesperson replied, “No further information at this time. Our investigation is still active and ongoing.”