Man Dies In Conway Police Custody
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
A man who called Conway police for help and
told police he thought he`d been poisoned died after he was
arrested for his own protection.
Police say 40-year-old Michael Cummings died Sunday night.
Officer Melissa Smith responded to Cummings` call, made from a cell
phone while he walked on Donaghey Avenue.
Police say Smith tried to handcuff Cummings because he seemed to
be mentally incapacitated and tried to walk into traffic.
The two struggled, and other officers arrived to assist.
Police say Cummings was taken into custody to keep him from
harming himself. He stopped breathing at the police department and
died at a hospital emergency room.
State police are investigating. The body was sent to the state
Crime Laboratory for an autopsy.
