Pedestrian on Freeway Dies in Custody
STEVENSON RANCH — A 36-year-old man who was detained for “exhibiting bizarre behavior” and threatening to run into freeway traffic died in custody late Friday, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said.
Carroll Walls, 36, was pronounced dead at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, said Deputy Mark Bailey, a department spokesman.
A California Highway Patrol officer spotted Walls walking along the Golden State Freeway about a mile north of the Antelope Valley Freeway interchange and stopped to question the man, authorities said.
The man was acting in a “bizarre manner and threatened to run across the freeway,” Bailey said, prompting the officer to call for help from other CHP officers and sheriff’s deputies.
“He was restrained to prevent him from running into the freeway,” Bailey said, adding that the five officers and deputies handcuffed the man and bound his legs.
“His heart stopped while he was being restrained,” Bailey said.
The death is being investigated by Sheriff’s Department homicide investigators, Bailey said.
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