Downstate Man Dies in Police Custody in Oneonta

A man has died while in police custody in Oneonta. A 52-year-old man from New Rochelle was arrested after a 2-month long investigation into illegal narcotics trafficking. Oneonta Police say they had the man in custody at the jail and during an attempt to search the individual, he became combative. Police say he attempted to keep himself enclosed in a holding cell, holding the door shut. When officers gained access to the cell, they determined that the man had place an amount of cocaine in his mouth in an attempt to swallow it. An ambulance was called immediately, and the man was transported to a local hospital where he suffered medical complications and died shortly thereafter.Police say the man had an extensive criminal record and history of incarceration for felony offenses including robbery, burglary, as well as narcotics possession and sales. The incident remains under investigation by the Oneonta Police Department under the supervision of the Otsego County District Attorney’s Office. The man’s name is being withheld pending family notification.