Rhode Island man handcuffed by police dies
Providence, Rhode Island, police released body camera video after a man who was handcuffed by officers died.
The footage is from one of several officers who responded to a call around 12:30 a.m. ET Friday about a man, identified as Joseph Ventre, 34, screaming in the middle of the street.
When the video begins, Ventre is heard yelling. Two other officers are already on the scene.
The three police officers walk around a chain-link fence to a grassy field, where Ventre is seen rolling around on the ground.
Several minutes pass before officers approach Ventre and try to calm him down. Paramedics and several other officers have just arrived at this point in the video.
"Buddy, relax your body," one officer says. "Relax your body, you're OK."
Ventre yells out indiscernible words and at one point tells the officer his name is David.
One of the officers suggests they handcuff Ventre in the front. Instead, they try to direct him toward the paramedics but Ventre is still rolling on the ground.
Eventually, several officers attempt to handcuff him. After a short struggle, Ventre is placed in cuffs and lifted onto a stretcher.
The Providence Police Department said that Ventre was pronounced dead at the hospital just before 2 a.m.
According to a police press release, Ventre was "possibly under the influence of narcotics." He was placed in handcuffs "to prevent injuries and for the safety of rescue personnel," the department said, noting his "erratic behavior."
"The subject continued to refuse to comply with police commands and after a minor struggle, the subject was placed on a stretcher and into the Providence Fire Department rescue where PFD personnel began to perform CPR," police said.
The identities of the officers involved have not been released. The case remains under investigation.
