Cause of death for man found in Azusa police car released by LA County Medical Examiner
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner released the cause of death for the man found dead in an Azusa police car two months ago.
Eric Valencia, 37, died of hyperthermia, or overheating, according to the medical examiner's office.
The Azusa Police Department found Valencia's body in the back of the out-of-service car in front of the station on March 26, three days after he was released from custody. Officers arrested Valencia on suspicion of DUI and child endangerment on Friday, March 20, after he had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit, according to Police Chief Rocky Wenrick.
"While in custody and during his arrest, no force was used against Mr. Valencia," Wenrick said in March.
He was held over the weekend before being released on March 23. Security video released by Azusa PD showed Valencia entering the out-of-service car and closing the door behind himself after being released.
"Mr. Valencia was released from custody with no apparent signs of distress," Wenrick said. "Surveillance video shows Mr. Valencia unlawfully entering the rear seat area of patrol unit 37."
Valencia's family criticized the agency following his death, claiming that they did not take them seriously when they tried to file a missing person's report a day after the 37-year-old father was released.
"They didn't take us seriously when we were telling them," sister-in-law Julia McCormick said. "Come to find out that he was here, in a car, the whole time."
When asked to comment, a lawyer representing Valencia's family said he was saddened that Valencia "suffered" in the days leading up to his death.
"Eric's family is still grieving this loss and they are shocked and saddened by this finding. This could have been prevented by the simple task of locking the patrol car or looking inside it," said Michael Carrillo of the Carrillo Law Firm. "We also note that the autopsy did not include a toxicology screening. We will be investigating why that is, because it leaves significant unanswered questions that need to be addressed."
It's not clear why Valencia entered the car in the first place, but on Thursday morning, March 26, a department employee preparing to wash the car found his body inside.
During a press conference in March, Wenrick said that Valencia had a "working" cell phone in his possession inside the vehicle and that he never attempted to call the department. He said the department hired an outside firm to investigate the situation.
