BUFFALO, N.Y. — The New York State Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation is investigating the death of a civilian following an incident at the Erie County Holding Center last summer.
According to the Attorney General's office, the civilian, identified by family as Shaun A. Humphrey, was in custody at the Erie County Holding Center on August 8, 2023 when Humphrey had what appeared to be a seizure. Staff members of the Erie County Sheriff's office assisted him, but shortly after that, police say Humphrey became physically combative and was held in a prone position so he could be handcuff.
Investigators say he stopped responding and Erie County Sheriff's Office staff tried to treat him before he was taken to the a local hospital. Humphrey was pronounced dead a week later on August 8, 2023.
New York State law requires any incident reported where a police officer, or a peace officer, may have caused the death of a person by an act or omission be investigated.
Ashley Isaac, the daughter of Shaun A. Humphries, spoke to our partners at Investigative Post. During an interview with them, she provided some details of what police told her. “The detective called me shortly after [the incident], and that was when he told me it appeared my dad had suffered a seizure and had gone into full cardiac arrest,” Isaac said. “He then told me that because they assumed it was either a seizure or maybe some type of possible overdose that they had Narcan’d him two times. And it was after they had Narcan’d him that he became aggressive, but that was a symptom of being Narcan’d," said Isaac.
2 On Your Side has reached out to the Erie County Sheriff's Office for a response. They issued this statement:
“The Erie County Sheriff’s Office and the New York State Attorney General’s Office have been engaged in a joint investigation into the death of an incarcerated individual that occurred on 08/15/23. New York State Executive Law Section 70-b requires that the New York State Attorney General’s Office investigates certain in-custody deaths. Due to the ongoing nature of this inquiry, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time."