Las Vegas resident, 39, identified as man who died in police custody
The Clark County coroner’s office has identified a man who died shortly after he was taken into custody by Las Vegas police on Monday evening.
He was 39-year-old Karter Singh, of Las Vegas, the coroner’s office said. His cause and manner of death were pending as of Wednesday morning.
Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Larry Hadfield said Wednesday that Singh showed signs of “medical distress” after he was taken into custody and handcuffed, adding that the “medical distress appeared to be caused by drug use.”
Singh died after he was taken into custody while officers were investigating a suspected stolen vehicle, Metro said in a statement sent Tuesday afternoon. Singh was driving the vehicle, and may have faced charges of possession of a stolen vehicle had he survived, Hadfield said.
Singh was taken into custody along with the vehicle’s passenger, although the second man was not criminally charged, Hadfield said. The department declined to identify the other man.
At about 6:22 p.m., dispatchers received a report of a stolen vehicle at Valley View Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue, department dispatch records show. Hadfield said an officer conducted a records check on a vehicle while at the intersection.
The department said in a news release Tuesday that “officers located and stopped a stolen vehicle” at a gas station on the 4800 block of West Russell Road, about two miles southwest of the intersection listed in dispatch records.
“During the course of the investigation, an officer observed one of the subjects display signs of medical distress,” Metro said. “Officers placed the subject into the recovery position and requested medical attention.”
Hadfield said Singh started showing signs of “distress” about 30 minutes after he was placed into handcuffs. It remained unclear Wednesday afternoon when he was handcuffed and when medical personnel arrived.
Singh was taken to Spring Valley Hospital, where the coroner’s office said he was pronounced dead at 8:11 p.m., about two hours after dispatchers received the stolen vehicle report.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
