Family says man who died after police struggle on I-81 had mental illness

A man who West Virginia State Police say died Sunday night after a struggle with a state trooper on Interstate 81 north of Martinsburg, W.Va., has been identified as a Hagerstown resident.

A state police spokesman Tuesday confirmed the victim as being Edmond Exline. A family member said the 44-year-old man lived on Virginia Avenue.

Previously:West Virginia authorities investigating death of male after officer struggle

State police said previously in a news release that the trooper responded to I-81 about 2 1/2 miles north of the North Queen Street exit around 9:15 p.m. for a person walking south on the highway.

The trooper found Exline and a brief struggle occurred. Exline became unresponsive and troopers were unsuccessful in reviving him at the scene, police said.

Exline later died at Berkeley Medical Center and an investigation is underway, the release said.

State police initially said they responded to the scene for an intoxicated male walking on the interstate. But Exline's sister-in-law, Sarah Exline of Hagerstown, said in a phone interview Tuesday that she finds it hard to believe her brother-in-law had been drinking.

She said Edmond suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and he was afraid of consuming anything like alcohol for fear that it would complicate his condition.

Exline said her brother-in-law was always afraid that authorities such as the FBI were after him, and she believes he was "definitely running from something" when he was on the interstate. Sarah Exline said Edmond has had family ties to West Virginia in the past and believes that is possibly why he was in Berkeley County.

When asked Tuesday about the family's doubts that Exline could have been intoxicated, Capt. R.A. Maddy, state police spokesman, said an autopsy will help answer those questions. He declined to comment further.

Maddy has also been reluctant to release other details such as how the struggle began, the name of the trooper and whether the officer is on administrative leave. Maddy said Monday that his department is "looking into everything."

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: West Virginia Police identify man who died after police struggle