32-year-old Lee Roy Tapia died on October 12, 2017 after being in the custody of the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office. The Cameron County Sheriff’s Office filed a custodial death report with the Attorney General of Texas, and information obtained in this post was obtained from that report. We make no allegations in this post that anyone acted inappropriately and/or did anything wrong. We are simply providing information.
According to the report, Cameron County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call on Monday, October 9, 2017. They arrested Mr. Tapia for alleged criminal mischief. Mr. Tapia allegedly failed to cooperate with officers at the scene and on the way to the jail, such that he was put into a restraint chair at the jail. He was also sprayed with pepper spray at the scene. Mr. Tapia became unresponsive at the jail, and life-saving measures were taken. Mr. Tapia ultimately died at a local hospital. The complete autopsy report was pending at the time the report was filed.
