Man dies in Washington state jail cell hours after drug arrest

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Washington state authorities said on Wednesday they are investigating the death of a man found dead in his jail cell nine hours after appearing to ingest a white powder while being arrested on drug charges. The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office in Tacoma is working to determine whether the suspect, 32-year-old Demetrius Dixon, died of a self-inflicted drug overdose, an investigator said. Results of the investigation could be ready later on Wednesday. Dixon was arrested Tuesday in the city of Lakewood, between Seattle and Olympia, when he was found to be in possession of cocaine, prescription drugs and illegal quantities of marijuana during a traffic stop, Lakewood police spokesman John Unfred said.Dixon resisted "slightly" during his arrest, and the officer believed he saw him ingest a white powder as he was taken into custody, Unfred said. "He denied several times that he had ingested anything," Unfred said. The officer called for assistance from emergency medical officials, who determined the suspect had a slightly elevated heart rate, police said. He was then taken to St. Clare Hospital in Lakewood where a nurse cleared him, police said. Dixon was later booked into Pierce County Jail on charges including drug possession with intent to distribute. He was found dead, alone in his cell, about four hours later, authorities said. Pierce County Detective Ed Troyer said Dixon had not complained of feeling ill. "He is very versed in the criminal justice system and had plenty of opportunity to say something was wrong with him even after the hospital cleared him," Troyer said. The suspect had 12 felony arrests and six felony convictions for drug dealing, weapons, burglary and assault charges, Troyer said. Dixon's family could not immediately be located for comment. A spokesman for the Lakewood hospital where police said a nurse cleared him said it was checking into the report. (Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere)