Indiana police say that a 17-year-old who was picked up for burglary has died after he strangled himself while handcuffed in the back seat of a police car. They say the teen managed to move his handcuffed hands from behind his back to the front of his body and then used the seat belt to strangle himself.
The local ABC news affiliate reported:
When the teen was discovered, police performed CPR and called for an ambulance, police reported.
Police said the teen was transported to St. John's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“Our heart goes out to the family of the child that passed away while in police custody. It is a tragic situation when a death occurs with a person at such a young age," Anderson Mayor Kevin S. Smith said in a news release.
Crenshaw said he could not comment on the timeline of the events since the investigation is continuing.
He did say he's never seen a case like this before.
"It's very tragic for the family members of the young boy," Crenshaw said. "You respond to the crime, you try to do the police functions as you can and in a situation like this, it's tragic for the police department, for the officers involved and for the community."
The local news report has more details about the burglary police were investigating, but nothing more about how 17-year-old managed to kill himself in the back of a police car. Police wouldn't respond further questions citing the pending investigation into the death.
