NEW YORK, N.Y. — A 33-year-old man died Friday evening after workers at a Harlem shelter for people with autism held him down following a reported attack on a staff member, and the New York Police Department’s Force Investigation Division has taken over the case.
A 911 caller reported an assault in progress a little before 5:45 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, at 3 East 129th St., where Quality Services for the Autism Community runs the shelter. When officers from the 25th Precinct got there, they found employees holding the man on the floor. He was unconscious and unresponsive.
Officers started CPR and called for an ambulance. Paramedics rushed him in critical condition to NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, where he died a short time later.
According to police, the man had struck a 54-year-old female worker moments before staff stepped in. The reason for the attack has not been made public. The worker was hospitalized in stable condition. It was not immediately clear whether the man lived at the shelter.
The city’s medical examiner will perform an autopsy to learn how he died. Police are holding back his name until relatives are told.
Police sources said the man was in the middle of being taken into custody when the emergency unfolded. The shelter sits on East 129th Street in East Harlem, inside the NYPD’s 25th Precinct.
The Force Investigation Division usually reviews police shootings and other cases where officers use deadly force. Police have not said why the unit was assigned to this case or whether anyone faces charges.
Section: More New York NY crime news
Filed under: New York NY Public Safety News
