Bronx Man Dies Shortly After Being Handcuffed By Police

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Authorities are investigating what caused the death of a 55-year-old man who died shortly after he was handcuffed by New York City police.

Police responded to a call about a violent emotionally disturbed person at an apartment on East 137th Street in the Bronx around 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The caller told police that her husband, Richard Gonzalez, was high on drugs and throwing things around the apartment, investigators said.

While officers were talking to the wife in the hallway, Gonzalez came out of the apartment and tried to pull the woman back inside, police said.

Officers separated the two, put Gonzalez on the floor and slapped handcuffs on him, investigators said.

About a minute after he was handcuffed, Gonzalez began to be distressed, investigators said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Gonzalez's wife, 59-year-old Hafiza Ali-Gonzalez, says she will pursue legal action if the medical examiner rules his death a homicide.

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