We had no knowledge he got into a police car
Three days after being released from police custody in Azusa, California, a man was found dead in the back seat of an unlocked, unattended police car parked directly in front of the station — discovered by a civilian employee in the early hours of Thursday morning. He had been arrested the previous Friday on DUI and child endangerment charges, released Monday, and reported missing somewhere in between. His death raises quiet but urgent questions about the spaces that open up between institutional release and genuine safety — and who bears responsibility for what happens inside them.
- A man released from custody on Monday was found unresponsive in an unlocked police car at 4:51 a.m. Thursday — dead nine minutes after paramedics arrived.
- The vehicle, parked in plain sight at the front of the Azusa station, was out of service for routine maintenance and had been left unlocked and unattended for an undisclosed period of time.
- Security footage confirmed the man entered the back seat on his own, but police say they had no knowledge he was inside — exposing a significant gap in station-level awareness and vehicle security.
- The man had been reported missing between his Monday release and Thursday's discovery, yet the details of who filed that report and when remain publicly unaddressed.
- Two parallel investigations are now underway — an internal departmental review feeding into the District Attorney's Justice System Integrity Division, and an outside firm tasked specifically with explaining why the car was left unsecured.
Three days after walking out of the Azusa police station, a man was found dead in the back seat of a police car parked directly in front of the building. A civilian employee arriving for work discovered him unresponsive at 4:51 a.m. on Thursday, March 26. Paramedics pronounced him dead nine minutes later.
The man had been arrested the previous Friday on suspicion of DUI and child endangerment, held through the weekend, and released Monday. What unfolded in the days between his release and his death remains largely unknown. He had been reported missing at some point, though police offered no details about when or by whom.
The car where he was found was not in active service — parked out front at 725 North Alameda Avenue awaiting routine maintenance, and left unlocked. Security footage showed him entering the back seat, though Captain Robert Landeros acknowledged that at the time of discovery, officers had no idea he was there. How long the vehicle had sat unattended was not disclosed.
Azusa police stated that their standard release protocol for DUI suspects includes confirming sobriety before discharge, with medical or mental health concerns prompting transfer to an appropriate facility. The specifics of this man's condition at release were not addressed.
Two investigations are now running concurrently: an internal departmental review with findings headed to the District Attorney's Justice System Integrity Division, and a separately contracted outside firm examining why the police vehicle was left unlocked and accessible. The medical examiner has yet to release a cause of death, and the man's identity remained withheld pending family notification.
Three days after walking out of the Azusa police station, a man was found dead in the back seat of a police car parked directly in front of the building. The discovery came early Thursday morning, March 26, when a civilian employee arrived at work and found him unresponsive at 4:51 a.m. Paramedics pronounced him dead nine minutes later.
The man had been arrested the previous Friday on suspicion of driving under the influence and child endangerment. He spent the weekend in custody before being released on Monday, according to Azusa Police Captain Robert Landeros. What happened in the three days between his release and his death remains unclear. He was reported missing at some point, though police did not immediately provide details about who filed that report or when.
The police car where he was found was not in active service. It had been parked in front of the station at 725 North Alameda Avenue pending routine maintenance work. The vehicle was unlocked. Security camera footage later showed the man entering the back seat of the car, though Landeros said at the time of the discovery, "We had no knowledge he got into a police car." How long the vehicle had been sitting unattended at the station was not disclosed.
The medical examiner's office will determine the cause of death, but that determination had not been made public by Thursday afternoon. The man's identity was also not released pending notification of family members.
Azusa police maintain that their standard procedure for releasing DUI suspects includes ensuring the person is sober before discharge. If an arrestee shows signs of medical distress or mental health concerns, they are transported to an appropriate facility rather than simply released. The circumstances of this man's release and his condition at the time were not detailed in the police statement.
Two separate investigations are now underway. Detectives within the Azusa Police Department are conducting an internal review of the incident, with findings to be forwarded to the District Attorney's Justice System Integrity Division for independent examination. Additionally, an outside firm has been contracted to investigate the specific question of why the police car was left unlocked and unattended in front of the station. Those findings may shed light on whether this was an isolated lapse in procedure or part of a broader pattern of security oversights.
Notable Quotes
We had no knowledge he got into a police car.— Azusa Police Captain Robert Landeros
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would someone released from custody get into a police car three days later?
That's the question no one can answer yet. The camera shows him entering it, but we don't know if he was seeking shelter, confused, in crisis, or something else entirely.
And the police had no idea he was even there?
Not until the civilian employee found him dead. The car was supposed to be out of service anyway, sitting there waiting for maintenance. It just happened to be unlocked.
Is that normal—leaving a police car unlocked at the station?
Apparently not normal enough that they didn't need to hire an outside firm to figure out how it happened. That's the investigation they're running now.
What about the three days between his release and being found? Where was he?
Unknown. He was reported missing, but the police didn't say who reported him or when. That gap is part of what makes this so opaque.
Do they know why he was released on Monday if he was arrested Friday?
Standard procedure, they say—he had to be sober, and if there were medical or mental health concerns, he should have been taken to a facility. But we don't know what his condition actually was when he left.
So the real question is whether he should have been released at all?
That's one of the questions. The other is how a man in whatever state he was in ended up dead in an unlocked police car at the station where he'd just been released from.