At a Thursday news conference, interim South Bend Police Chief Chuck Hurley defended police action in which a man who swallowed bagged drugs died while in police custody.
Michael Anderson, 31, died July 22. South Bend Police arrested him after a foot chase. He was a suspect in a stolen mo-ped case.
Hurley said he wanted to correct "misinformation and rumors" he said the family has received.
According to a police timeline police, an ambulance took Anderson to the hospital about 10 minutes after police began chasing him. The chase lasted less than 30 seconds.
According to police:
- Officers called for paramedics about 30 seconds after they arrested Anderson.
- Paramedics were dispatched 2 minutes later.
- An EMT supervisor arrived in under 4 minutes, following the dispatch.
- South Bend Fire Department came 1 minute after that.
- The ambulance arrived 2 minutes later to take Anderson to the hospital.
The family questioned whether police immediately called for help, and whether officers used proper force when arresting Anderson.
Hurley said Anderson's family, who has contracted investigators, spoke with Internal Affairs Thursday morning.
WSBT's Chad Damp also spoke with Hurley after the news conference. Hurley said Anderson had two bags of drugs in his body; paramedics removed a small bag of marijuana.
A larger bag of cocaine was found further down his trachea during the autopsy. Hurley also said a police officer removed the $1 bill from Anderson's mouth; the bill was not in a bag of drugs.
South Bend Tribune Staff Writer Madeline Buckley contributed to this story.
