Police in the southern Nevada city of Henderson said Wednesday they are investigating the death in custody of a man who was arrested with use of a stun gun and died almost a week later from complications of a broken collarbone.
Henderson police announced Tuesday they opened a homicide investigation after the Clark County coroner ruled the death of Ronald Lee Winborne, 53, "a homicide due to the use of force during his initial arrest."
The department declined Wednesday to release Winborne's hometown or comment about the investigation.
In a statement, the department said Tuesday that Winborne "had a knife in his hand" and "pointed (it) at an officer" before he was shocked with a stun gun and arrested March 21 on charges including assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer and resisting arrest.
Winborne was treated by Henderson Fire Department paramedics before he was taken to the Henderson Detention Center, and police said he was then taken to a Henderson hospital before being returned to the city jail.
LAS VEGAS DEMOCRAT CHARGED WITH KILLING REPORTER FILES COMPLAINT AGAINST POLICE
Almost a week later, on March 27, "Winborne’s health began to decline" and he was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas, where he died, police said.
The coroner's ruling on the cause of death, issued May 10, also listed high blood pressure and liver disease as complicating factors in Winborne's death.
A police arrest report obtained Wednesday said Winborne had "a 7-inch butter knife" and was waving it at passing vehicles about 9 p.m. March 21 near a Henderson city park, and he ran from officers when they arrived.
After Winborne was incapacitated by the stun gun and fell on his right side, an officer laid his body weight on Winborne's left side while officers forced Winborne's hands from under his body, the report said.
Henderson, adjacent to Las Vegas, is Nevada's second-largest city with more than 320,000 residents.
