LAS VEGAS (AP) - It could be several weeks before investigators know why a 65-year-old man died after being handcuffed by two police officers responding to his report that someone was after him, authorities said Friday.
Toxicology results are pending in the death early last Sunday of Roy Anthony Scott, who called police claiming that someone with a saw was trying to break into his apartment.
Police will convene a board to review the actions of the officers, Theodore Huntsman and Kyle Smith, Las Vegas Deputy Police Chief Chris Jones said Friday.
Jones told reporters Thursday the officers found no one with a saw, and Scott dropped a metal pipe and surrendered a knife before becoming agitated when the officers restrained him to search him for more weapons.
Jones aired police body-worn camera video and said it appeared the officers acted appropriately before Scott became unconscious after struggling as he was held to the ground. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Police said in a statement that Scott showed signs of drug use and a condition called “excited delirium,” which can include sweating and increased body temperature.
Scott is recorded telling the officers he was a paranoid schizophrenic and saying, “Please, sir, leave me alone,” several times while the officers pin him to the ground. A person wearing slippers leans over and tries to speak to Scott as officers hold him down.
“People are after me, man,” Scott says.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that after Scott was handcuffed and searched, his breathing became labored and the officers rolled him onto his side in what Jones called a “recovery position” to help him breathe more easily.
“Relax, man. We’re trying to help you. You’re OK,” one officer says.
Police requested paramedics at 3:42 a.m. for a cut on Scott’s head, Jones said, and an ambulance arrived 13 minutes later.
The Review-Journal reported that Scott’s family viewed footage from both officers’ body cameras on Wednesday.
Smith, 27, and Huntsman, 29, have been police officers since 2017. They are on paid leave pending results of departmental and district attorney reviews.
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