Findings released on 2017 El Paso Co. jail death
The El Paso Co. Sheriff’s Office has released the findings of its investigation into the death of a man at the county’s Criminal Justice Center.
Eliezer Tirado-Ortiz, 40, was arrested in September 2017, after deputies were dispatched to a disturbance on South Circle Dr. in Colorado Springs. He was reportedly punching and throwing objects when deputies arrived.
In a news release, the Sheriff’s Office says Tirado-Ortiz began banging his head against the window after he was placed in a deputy’s patrol car. He was also sweating and acting erratically. Deputies then discovered that Tirado-Ortiz had a small amount of heroin and drug paraphernalia.
Tirado-Ortiz was taken to CJC and placed inside a holding cell. Deputies say he was screaming at them and refused to comply with a pat-down search. More deputies were brought in to restrain him. A nurse inspected the leg restraints that were placed on Tirado-Ortiz, and checked his pulse.
Tirado-Ortiz was found unresponsive more than 10 minutes after he was restrained. EMTs performed CPR and administered a dose of Narcan, but those efforts were unsuccessful and Tirado-Ortiz was pronounced dead.
An autopsy later revealed that the man died from heroin and methamphetamine intoxication that resulted from “necessary physical restraint by law enforcement.” The results were forwarded to the Tenth Judicial District Attorney’s Office for review.
District attorneys later concluded that Tirado-Ortiz’s death was “a tragic event precipitated by the use of heroin and methamphetamines”, and that no criminal charges will be filed.
