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64-year-old man dies in police custody after medical emergency, NYPD says
By
Karen Yi
and
Charles Lane
Published Aug 15, 2026
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Mindaugas Dulinskas/Getty Images
By
Karen Yi
and
Charles Lane
Published Aug 15, 2026
Share
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A 64-year-old man died from a medical emergency shortly after police arrested him in East Harlem on Friday, according to the NYPD.
Police said they received a 911 call about a man acting violently with a weapon at The Veterans Residence, a supportive housing building on 119th Street. He was arrested and charged with mischief and menacing, according to the NYPD. Police said he began to experience a life-threatening medical emergency shortly after being taken into custody at the 25th Precinct stationhouse and rejecting medical assistance.
The man, whose name has not been released pending family notification, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. It’s still unclear what caused his death, which is the fourth inside an NYPD booking facility this year.
The NYPD said it is conducting an internal force investigation.
The deaths of the three other people who died while in police custody this year were drug related and ruled an accident by the city’s medical examiner. All three had acute drug intoxication listed among the causes of their deaths.
This is a developing story based on preliminary information from police and may be updated.
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public safety
Karen Yi
Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020. Before that, Karen covered Newark for the Star-Ledger and spent almost a decade working for newspapers in New Jersey and Florida. She grew up in Miami and has a dog named Cashew. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-589-1460.
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Charles Lane
Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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