Methamphetamine, heart disease ruled cause of death of man in El Paso police custody

Toxic effects of methamphetamine and heart disease caused the death of a man who died in El Paso police custody following a physical altercation with officers, a medical examiner ruled.

The manner of death of Jonathan Rose Eddens, 35, of El Paso, is "best classified as accident," El Paso County Deputy Medical Examiner Adam Gonzalez wrote in an autopsy report.

Efforts to reach Eddens' family have been unsuccessful.

Eddens got into a physical altercation with El Paso Police Department officers about 3:16 p.m. Sunday, April 14. Officers were responding to a report of a man walking in and out of traffic on Alameda Avenue and San Marcial Street in South El Paso.

Eddens refused to comply with multiple commands from officers. Officers tased Eddens multiple times during the incident. Police video shows the officers tackled Eddens to the ground and punched him several times.

Officers eventually arrested Eddens and took him to University Medical Center for treatment, where he later died.

Autopsy report shows Eddens had meth, cannabis is his system

The El Paso County Medical Examiner's Office performed the autopsy on Eddens' body April 15. Gonzalez performed the examination with two El Paso police officers and a Texas Ranger present.

Gonzalez's report states officers tased Eddens' multiple times. Emergency medical technicians gave Eddens a sedative on the way to the hospital. He "remained active and aggressive the entire time," the report states.

Shortly after arriving at the hospital, Eddens became "unresponsive" and "resuscitative efforts were performed," the report states.

Eddens is described in the report as being "well-developed, well-nourished."

Gonzalez observed "numerous superficial abrasions about the body." There were no "apparent taser marks, but several small superficial abrasions could represent non-penetrating taser injuries," the report states.

Eddens had abrasions to his head, face, shoulders, chest, abdomen, lower back, wrists, hands, elbows, forearms, thighs, knees, lower legs and ankles, the report states. The report does not state if the abrasions were the result of the altercation with officers, suffered prior to the altercation or from the medical treatment he received at the hospital.

The autopsy revealed Eddens had "hypertensive cardiovascular disease."

More: El Paso police release body camera videos of arrest of man who died in police custody

A toxicology report showed Eddens had illegal drugs in his system at the time of his death. The drugs were "methamphetamine with its metabolite (amphetamine) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol."

Gonzalez also noted that "cocaine and/or metabolites amphetamines, and fentanyl and/or metabolites were presumptively positive on urine drug screen, but not further detected in blood."

"Based on the investigative and examination findings, it is my opinion that the cause of death is toxic effects of methamphetamine," Gonzalez wrote in his report. "Despite the use of physical restraints and electrical weapons, the decedent remained responsive for some time. As such, these did not play a role in the cause of death, which is attributed solely to drug toxicity.

"Hypertensive cardiovascular disease (was a) contributing factor to the cause of death. The manner of death is best classified as accident. Should new evidence come to light, the manner of death is subject to change."

Video shows altercation between Eddens, police officers

The altercation between Eddens and the officers was captured on officers' body cameras. El Paso Police Department officials publicly released the videos May 2.

Eddens was bleeding from the face when officers arrived at the scene. Officers asked Eddens to come talk to them and to allow them to check if he was okay. Eddens refused and continued walking in and out of the road.

An officer claimed Eddens threatened to stab the officers if they approached him. It is unclear in the video's audio if Eddens said that.

After a short foot pursuit, officers attempted to take Eddens into custody by grabbing him and throwing him to the ground, but he is seen in the video fighting the officers and kicking them. He got back on his feet and continued to walk away from the officers.

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The officers discharged several tasers at Eddens. One is seen in the video hitting Eddens on the side of his body. Eddens fell to the ground and was arrested. He continued to struggle with officers. The video shows blood pouring down Eddens' face.

Eddens is then examined by medics, placed on a stretcher and taken to University Medical Center, where he later died.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Meth, heart disease ruled cause of death of man in police custody