The sons of a man who died of hyperthermia inside an unlocked Azusa police vehicle parked in front of the city’s police department three days after his release from jail are suing the city and various officers for alleged “deliberate indifference” to his medical needs, according to court papers obtained Wednesday.
Eric Valencia, a 37-year-old father of two, was found dead in the backseat of the police SUV around 4:50 a.m. March 26 in the 700 block of North Alameda Avenue.
According to Azusa police, Valencia had been arrested March 20 on suspicion of DUI and child endangerment, but was released from custody on March 23 pending further investigation. The department released body-camera and surveillance footage showing Valencia being arrested and processed at the police station.
The complaint for alleged civil rights violations claims failure to protect Valencia after his release from jail, leading to his death.
Surveillance video shows Valencia walking directly from the jail’s release exit into the rear compartment of an out-of-service patrol vehicle left in front of the police station, a compartment he could not open from the inside. He was released alone, without any medical evaluation, according to the complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court.
A request for comment sent to Azusa’s city attorney was not immediately answered Wednesday.
The lawsuit contends Valencia had a long history of heavy daily alcohol use, which police personnel knew about, and was suffering severe withdrawal symptoms. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner found he had cirrhosis of the liver and severe fatty liver disease, and identified chronic ethanol use as a contributing condition to his death, the suit says.
The medical examiner found that the rear passenger door of the SUV locked automatically and there was no way for Valencia to escape. Maximum outdoor temperatures from March 23 through March 26 ranged from 82 to 88 degrees Fahrenheit, and those temperatures were exacerbated inside the closed vehicle, the medical examiner determined.
Justine Cendejas, the mother of Valencia’s two children, who are plaintiffs in the suit, told reporters: “My son can’t go to sleep without crying for his dad. Never ever imagined something like this could happen to us. … I wish Eric was better taken care of when he was in custody. And I hope we get the answers that we’re looking for.”
While in custody at the APD jail, Valencia showed signs and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, including vomiting, dry heaving, wheezing, and heavy breathing, and stated that he was sick from alcohol withdrawal, according to the lawsuit. Nonetheless, Valencia was not medically evaluated or treated for withdrawal, no medical personnel were summoned for him, and he was not transferred to a medical facility at any time during his detention, the plaintiffs allege.
Azusa Police Chief Rocky Wenrick told reporters after the death that Valencia had a blood-alcohol level that was double the legal limit when he was arrested. But he showed no sign of distress when released.
He said Valencia’s relatives filed a missing-person report on March 25, but police were unaware at the time that he had gotten into the unattended vehicle parked nearby awaiting equipment installation.
“It’s extremely sad to hear that Eric suffered tremendously in the back of that Azusa police department patrol car for three days before he died,” attorney Michael Carrillo of the Carrillo Law Firm previously told City News Service.
“Eric’s family is still grieving this loss and they are shocked and saddened … This could have been prevented by the simple task of locking the patrol car or looking inside it.”