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Monday
Aug162004
Monday, August 16, 2004 at 02:34AM
The autopsy of a man who lapsed into a coma and
eventually died after an
altercation with the police will determine whether a criminal
investigation is launched into the actions of officers involved in the
incident, according to authorities. LaMont Robinson, 30, of Pasadena
died July 10. He had been comatose at
Huntington Hospital since the April 10 altercation with police. The
Pasadena Police Department launched an administrative review of the
use of force immediately after the incident but Deputy Chief Wayne
Hiltz said no conclusions have been reached. The District Attorney's
Office and the FBI also are investigating the Robinson incident.
Officers stopped to talk to Robinson, who was mumbling because his
mouth was full, Uyeda said. The officers tried to force what looked
like several grams of rock cocaine from Robinson's mouth and a struggle
ensued. At one point, officers were on top of Robinson, some trying to
put his
arms behind his back, others attempting to force open his mouth, Uyeda
said. Robinson
lost consciousness and appeared to stop breathing at some
point in the fight, Uyeda said. Joe Brown, president of the Pasadena
branch of the NAACP, said it was
completely unnecessary for the police to try to wrest the drugs from
Robinson's mouth. If there is need to retrieve drugs from a suspect's
mouth, police can always arrest a suspect and later pump his stomach,
Brown said. [more ]