Brandon Smith
Brandon Smith, 30, was held in a Sacramento police patrol wagon on June 6, 2018, and his family said he had seemed to be doing fine when they dropped him off at a detox center to get help. While in the wagon he said he felt like he was having a heart attack, and an officer found him unresponsive when the wagon reached the Sacramento County Jail. His family and advocates question whether officers should have sought medical care sooner. The coroner's office later listed methamphetamine intoxication as the cause and ruled the death an accident, but the family said they had not received information about his death or access to the autopsy, and police are still investigating abrasions on his body and what officers knew during the medical emergency.
Cause of death, as reported: Cause not yet determined (disputed; neglect alleged). The coroner's autopsy listed methamphetamine intoxication and ruled it an accident, but the family says they never received information about his death or the autopsy, and police are still investigating abrasions on his body and what officers knew during the medical emergency; his family and advocates question whether officers should have sought medical care sooner.
Reported by: Sacramento County Coroner's Office (medical examiner or coroner); Sacramento Police Department (the agency that held him); his family; advocates.