A father of two died from overheating in an Azusa police car, officials said
A 37-year-old father of two who was found in a patrol car outside the Azusa Police Department in March died of severe heatstroke, according to authorities.
Eric Valencia’s death was ruled an accident and the cause of death was listed as hyperthermia, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner.
Valencia’s family has called for an investigation to determine why police did not check the parked car at the Azusa police station and whether Valencia was in stable condition when he was released after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
“If Eric died of hyperthermia, it’s very sad to hear that Eric suffered so much in the back of that Azusa police car three days before he died,” said Michael Carrillo, Valencia’s family attorney, in a statement.
“Eric’s family is still grieving this loss and is shocked and saddened by this discovery,” according to the statement. “This could have been prevented by the simple act of locking the patrol car or looking inside it. We also noted that the autopsy did not include a toxicology test. We will investigate why this is so, because it leaves important unanswered questions that need to be addressed.
Surveillance video provided by police shows Valencia after he was released from jail around 1:00 a.m. on March 23, according to KABC. He was seen approaching a car parked outside the station, got into the back and closed the door. Law enforcement vehicles generally cannot be opened from the back seats.
Valencia was arrested on suspicion of DUI and child endangerment on March 20 and was held over the weekend before being released, Azusa Police Chief Rocky Wenrick said at a news conference.
“Mr. Valencia was released from custody with no apparent signs of depression,” Wenrick said during the conference call, according to KABC. “Surveillance video shows Mr. Valencia trespassing into the rear area of patrol unit 37.”
Valencia was first pulled over for driving without his lights on, and the police suspected that he was drunk, saying that his eyes were watery, bloodshot and the car smelled of alcohol, Wenrick told Fox during an interview.
Two children, ages 3 and 11, were in the car with Valencia, Wenrick added. Valencia had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit when he was arrested.
Valencia was released on March 23 and given his belongings, cell phone and food, according to Wenrick. His body was found inside an unlocked SUV three days later when Wenrick told crews to take the patrol cars for a wash.
Valencia’s cell phone was found to be active, and she never called 911 for help, according to Wenrick.
Officials explained that idle vehicles are often parked for days or weeks while waiting for equipment to be installed.
“We will do our best in the investigation to find out why Mr. Valencia got out of the car,” Wenrick said. “We hope that we will be able to bring closure to the family and for us to know why that decision was made and why he did what he did.”
