Overview

• Officers found the defendant unresponsive in a holding area at Brooklyn Criminal Court on Friday night, and EMS pronounced him dead at the scene.
• The NYPD’s Force Investigations Division has launched an in-custody death inquiry, and the Office of Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause.
• Authorities have not released the man’s identity pending family notification, with police listing his age as 46.
• He was awaiting arraignment after an arrest the previous night on petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property tied to alleged shoplifting, according to reports citing police sources.
• Advocacy groups said this is the twelfth death in or shortly after city custody this year and the third at a courthouse, underscoring broader concerns about detainee safety.