A man arrested for a drug violation after a minor crash investigation in Casper died in jail of a suspected medical event Wednesday morning, according to authorities.
The Casper Police Department dispatched a statement Wednesday saying officers responded to a minor traffic crash at the intersection of E Street and Center Street.
Police found evidence on scene that led them to suspect a passenger of one of the vehicles of a “drug violation.”
“Initial investigation shows the arrest was benign, the suspect was cooperative and the arrest required no use of police force,” the statement says.
The Natrona County Coroner’s Office confirmed to Cowboy State Daily that the arrestee was male, but said it would not yet release his name or age. The police statement says the coroner must first notify the man’s next of kin.
Law enforcement took the man to Banner Wyoming Medical Center for a medical evaluation “in accordance with the policies” of the Natrona County Detention Center.
Medical staff evaluated the man, released him and approved him for entry into the jail, the statement says.
Once the man got to jail he “fell unconscious and appeared to be suffering a medical event,” the statement continues. Jail staff tried to save his life, but the man was pronounced dead on scene.
The man’s cause of death appears to be “medical in nature” and is under active investigation, the statement says, adding that department has requested the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation and the Natrona County Coroner’s Office to investigate the cause of death.
Casper Police Department also is “conducting an internal investigation” into the incident, the statement says.
