HOUSTON – The Houston Police Department is trying to figure out how a man died in police custody after he was loaded into an ambulance Saturday.
Houston police said a man appeared to be injured when he began acting erratically and became destructive at the Phillips 66 gas station in the 2700 block of Broadway Street.
HPD said the officer who first confronted the man didn't put his hands on him. The officer entered the gas station to buy a bottle of water when he noticed a strange man walking in.
"When the suspect walked in, he is acting erratically, he is visibly disturbed and he is bleeding from the head and mouth," HPD spokesperson Jodi Silva said.
Authorities said the officer approached the man and offered to get him some help for his bleeding. But officials said the man became aggressive and responded by trying to attack the officer.
"He was behaving very erratically and was pushing at the officer, trying to charge at him," Silva said.
The officer then reportedly called for backup and police eventually detained the man. Paramedics soon came out to the store to take the man to the hospital.
"During the point of being transported to the hospital, he becomes unconscious," Silva said. "At St. Joseph's Hospital, he was pronounced deceased."
Police said the man's identity is pending verification by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
The police department said it is reviewing surveillance video of the man inside the store, but it will not be released because it is part of an internal affairs investigation.