A 41-year-old man has died in police custody at a detention facility on 400 N. Broad St. after being arrested for narcotics possession in Kensington, city officials confirmed Friday.
The man, whose name is being withheld pending family notification, was arrested Wednesday morning on the 200 block of E. Tusculum Street and transported to police headquarters later that day, Philadelphia Police Department spokesperson Eric Gripp wrote in an email.
The man was found unresponsive in his cell at the Police Detention Unit (PDU) on Thursday at 8:47 p.m., according to a police alert sent through the city’s employee notification system. Medics pronounced him dead at 9:26 p.m.
Drug paraphernalia was found near his body, the alert stated, adding that there were no signs of trauma or notes in the cell.
The city medical examiner is working to determine the cause of death, Philadelphia Department of Public Health spokesperson Jim Kyle said in an email.
Gripp declined to comment on any medical attention the man “may have received” while in custody but noted that, as part of the intake process, “there is a nurse available at the PDU 24/7, and all prisoners receive a medical assessment upon intake.” Corrections officers conduct cell-block checks every 15 minutes to monitor prisoners’ well-being, he said.
Andrew Pappas, the managing director of pre-trial for the Defenders Association of Philadelphia, said the man who died was arraigned on Thursday around 2:30 p.m. Normally someone would be transported to State Road by 5 PM, Pappas said.
“Why he was still in a holding cell at the PDU seven hours later is beyond me. How he was found with drug paraphernalia surrounding his body, also beyond me,” Pappas said. “The reality is that the Philadelphia Police Department has an obligation to monitor the people that are in their care … They have a duty to ensure the people in custody are safe. That did not happen.”
The man was given a $50,000 sign on bond for his Philadelphia possession case, but was held due to outstanding warrants in Chester County for simple possession, and Delaware County for simple possession and a DUI – all misdemeanor charges –, according to Pappas.
Pappas believes there must have been a deficiency in the PPD’s monitoring and search of his cell and upon his entrance into the detention facility.
“If this was an overdose, and he was using in a holding cell at the PDU, that’s incredibly problematic and a failure on the part of the PPD,” he said.
This marks at least the second death this year of a person arrested for drug possession in Kensington and held in a Philadelphia jail.
In September, Amanda Cahill, 31, of Roxborough, died three days after her arrest on narcotics charges. She was among 34 people arrested in a coordinated police sweep in Kensington and was found dead in her cell at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center (PICC).
Both deaths come amid warnings from advocates and officials, including the former prison commissioner and the Philadelphia Department of Prison’s chief of medical operations, that the city’s prison system is overburdened and unable to provide adequate care to those in custody.
Pappas said the city should be using a public health approach to address the conditions in Kensington.
“Any time you are using the police as your strategy for getting people into drug treatment, it’s a flawed plan,” Pappas said. “Whether it's at PDU or State Road, the reality is that those facilities are not designed to handle the complex medical needs that these people are dealing with. So you're going to see more people die in custody.”
The facility where the 41-year-old man died is overseen by the police department, unlike PICC, which is managed by the prisons department. The PDU is designated for holding before police transfer custody to the prison.
According to Sam Lew, the Philly jails organizer for the Abolitionist Law Center, more than 60 people have died in the city's custody during the last five years. Lew said the number of deaths “reflects a pattern of egregious medical neglect, abuse by correctional officers, and widespread human rights violations.”
“This is not just a tragic statistic — it is a blatant failure of the system to protect the lives of those in its care,” Lew wrote in an email. “Let there be no doubt: the city has blood on its hands.”
Since Mayor Cherelle Parker took office in January, police and city sanitation workers have led enforcement initiatives targeting areas of Kensington with visible drug activity, such as Kensington and Allegheny avenues and Somerset Street. More recently, the Parker administration has also targeted less visible locations like the I-95 underpasses between Girard Avenue and Westmoreland Street.
At a Dec. 5 Harrowgate Civic Association meeting, police announced that narcotics arrests in Kensington have more than doubled since March, with a 107% increase in the 24th District, which includes Tusculum Street. Across the East Division, which encompasses the 24th, 25th, and 26th districts, narcotics arrests are up 93%.
Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel has directed officers to crack down on open-air drug use and encampments in Kensington, Deputy Police Commissioner Pedro Rosario told residents at the meeting.
“‘Go after more open-air. Go after the encampments,’” Rosario said, quoting Bethel.
Despite these efforts, residents have expressed frustration over the lack of noticeable improvements.
“Who the hell is engaging them?” said Shannon Farrell, Harrowgate Civic Association president, during the meeting. “They’re afraid of police officers.”
At-Large Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke said Saturday that City Council’s “minority wing” has been “sounding the alarm all year long” about the need to avoid repeating the mistakes of the War on Drugs.
“Far too many people are dying under the supervision of law enforcement in Philadelphia,” O’Rourke said in a statement. “At this point, the question is how many deaths it will take until there’s a change in approach.”
Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, who represents the district where the arrest occurred, declined to comment, as did the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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