A man who died in Joliet police custody allegedly had a medical emergency after officers found a bag of cocaine hidden in his mouth, police say.
Officers arrested the 37-year-old Eric Lurry Jr. Tuesday afternoon on drug-related charges, Joliet police and the Will/Grundy Counties Major Crimes Task Force said in statements.
When officers arrived at the police station at 4:17 p.m., the man refused to exit the squad car, at which point officer found drugs hidden in his mouth, Joliet police said.
As the officer tried to remove “a large bag of suspected cocaine” from his mouth, he began to have a medical emergency, Joliet police said.
He was given medical aid at the scene, and later taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Joliet, where he was treated in an ICU and died about 3 a.m. Wednesday, police said.
The Major Crimes Task Force is handling the investigation, police said.
Autopsy results are pending further testing, the Will County coroner’s office said Wednesday.
