A 71-year-old man who had been arrested for allegedly violating a restraining order not to contact his wife died after twice being hospitalized while in custody, Long Beach police said Wednesday.
Long Beach resident Michael Frank Smith was arrested Friday in the 300 block of Linares Avenue on suspicion of violating a court order, according to police.
He was booked into the Long Beach city jail in lieu of $20,000 bail and was awaiting arraignment when, on Sunday, he was taken to a hospital due to unspecified medical needs, police said.
He was treated at the hospital and medically cleared to return to jail, but on Tuesday jail staff making their rounds found Smith unresponsive, police said.
Jail medical personnel rendered aid, including CPR, until Long Beach Fire Department paramedics arrived and took Smith to a hospital, where he died.
“Due to the nature of Smith’s medical condition the Homicide Detail was notified immediately and responded to investigate the incident, which is standard in all such cases,” according to police.
“It is unknown what caused him to go into medical distress,” police said.
The coroner’s office is investigating the cause of Smith’s death.
— City News Service