Citizen Staff Writer
DAVID L. TEIBEL
dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com
Police will form a board of inquiry to review the death of a man who beat his head against a sidewalk after officers handcuffed him, a Tucson police spokesman said.
There is no indication officers hurt the man, but for in-custody deaths, it is standard procedure for a board of senior officers to review an investigation, said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco.
Homicide and internal affairs investigators are also conducting investigations into the Saturday death of Michael E. Moreno, 42, Pacheco said.
Moreno drove up to the Diamond Shamrock Store, 4570 S. Campbell Ave., about 4:50 a.m., circled a gasoline island and then drove up to the store’s door and stopped, Pacheco said.
After he stopped, Pacheco said, Moreno tried to break a store window with a broomstick.
A store employee called police and when officers arrived, they found Moreno rolling on the ground and handcuffed him, he said. Moreno then started slamming his head on the cement sidewalk in front of the store and in front of witnesses, he said.
It is not known for how long or how many times Moreno slammed his head on the sidewalk.
Tucson Fire Department medics were called and Moreno became “unresponsive,” Pacheco said.
The medics took Moreno to University Physicians Hospital at Kino Campus where he died shortly after arrival, Pacheco said.
An autopsy will be done, including toxicology tests, to determine the cause of Moreno’s death, Pacheco said.