Hector Garcia Sr.
Hector Garcia died on August 7, 2019, while held at the Doña Ana County Detention Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico. A civil lawsuit says jail medical staff ignored repeated collapses and signs of internal bleeding, did not call 911, and sent him to the hospital in a security van, where he suffered a heart attack during transport. The lawsuit also says jail staff worked to release him before his death so it would not count as an in-custody death. Surveillance video released in 2021 shows him collapsing repeatedly while in custody, and the county had not responded to the lawsuit's claims in the reporting.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff (disputed). A civil lawsuit alleges that jail medical staff ignored repeated collapses and signs of internal bleeding, did not call 911, and sent him to the hospital in a security van, where he had a heart attack during transport.
Reported by: civil lawsuit; news reports.
Lawsuit: A civil lawsuit over his death alleges that jail medical staff ignored repeated collapses and signs of internal bleeding, and that he suffered a heart attack during a van transport to the hospital.