After 8 Minute Ride To Jail, Hispanic Florida Man Mysteriously Dies While In Police Custody

A 35-year-old Hispanic man from Vero Beach, Florida, died on Thursday while in police custody. Mitchell ‘Brad’ Martinez was being transported to the Indian River County Jail on charges of a parole violation when the incident occurred. The cause of death is currently unknown and is under investigation. However, he was presumed to be healthy when he entered the police van. His health took a drastic turn for the worse during the 8 minute drive to jail when he arrived and was found to have gone into cardiac arrest. The other seven inmates in the van did not alert the officers to his change in condition. It wasn’t until officers attempted to remove him from the police van that they realized he was in trouble.

Video has been released of Martinez being loaded into the police van at the courthouse, where he was sentenced to time in jail for a parole violation, according to PINAC News. He was in good health when loaded into the police van and was separated from the other seven inmates, since he was in street clothes and not a jail-issued jumper. His seat was located directly behind the driver’s seat.

Another video shows the police van’s arrival at the jail. Officers seem to take their time removing the inmates from the van. However, when they open the side door, they realize that Martinez is non responsive. He is pulled out and laid on the ground, where a team of officers attempt to resuscitate him until paramedics arrive.

Upon further investigation, family members noticed abrasions on Martinez’s neck that appeared to be the size and shape of a seat belt. Sheriff Deryl Loar stated that the marks did not occur while Martinez was in their custody, according to the Palm Beach Post.

“There’s no other inmates that could touch him. No other officers that could touch him. Nothing unusual happened on the way to the jail.”

All seven inmates stated that they did not see or hear anything unusual during the 3.7 mile ride. Neither the EMS or the officers on scene saw the marks on Martinez’s neck.

Family members and friends shared images of Martinez, before and after the incident, on their Facebook pages in hopes of finding out what really happened to him.

Officials are hoping toxicology reports during the autopsy might provide clues to his death, suspecting that his addiction and abuse of meth and cocaine may be what caused his death.

[Photo Courtesy: PINAC News]