A 40-year-old Morgan Hill man died while in police custody
Thursday night, police said. Ronald Blighton was in the booking
area of the police station, one wrist handcuffed to a stationary
bench, when he went into
”
medical distress
”
at 6:45pm, about 25 minutes after he was brought into the
station.
Morgan Hill – A 40-year-old Morgan Hill man died while in police custody Thursday night, police said. Ronald Blighton was in the booking area of the police station, one wrist handcuffed to a stationary bench, when he went into “medical distress” at 6:45pm, about 25 minutes after he was brought into the station.
Morgan Hill Police Commander David Swing declined to discuss details of Blighton’s distress, but did say that the officers in the booking area started recusitation procedures while waiting for paramedics to arrive. Blighton was pronounced dead at the scene.
The holding cell area was sealed off for evidence collection for the investigation.
“The police department is conducting an investigation into the death of the subject with the assistance of the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office, which is standard protocol for these types of incidents,” Swing said in a statement to media.
Blighton was arrested without incident for an outstanding $10,000 traffic warrant from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office after police responded to his residence on Barnell Avenue for a domestic dispute. He did not attempt to struggle or to fight officers, Swing said, and was not physically restrained.
He may have been intoxicated, according to an earlier call to police.
“The reporting party indicated that he had been drinking and was possibly under the influence,” Swing said.
An official with the Santa Clara County Coroner’s office said Friday afternoon that no cause of death could be released until the report was completed.
MHPD veterans say they do not recall any similar deaths, Swing said.
