Man who died in police custody after ‘medical episode’ identified
A man who died in Metropolitan Police Department custody this week following a “medical episode” at a southwest valley pharmacy has been identified as a 50-year-old Las Vegas resident.
Reiner Sommer was declared dead about 2:45 p.m. Monday at Southern Hills Hospital, the coroner’s office said Thursday. His cause and manner of death were pending.
Metro officers responded at 1:30 p.m. to a Walgreens at 6485 S. Fort Apache Road, near Sunset Road, to assist medics dealing with a man they said was “acting erratic” inside a bathroom, Las Vegas police Lt. Carlos Hank said at the time.
The man was combative with officers as they were trying to detain him, said Hank, noting that he “became unresponsive” after he was cuffed.
It wasn’t clear how long it was before Sommer was taken to the hospital, which is directly across from the pharmacy.
Metro’s Force Investigation Team, which probes deadly police encounters, had taken over the investigation, Hank said.
Additional details were not immediately available Thursday.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow @rickytwrites on Twitter.
