(Dec 31/07 police video)PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP -- Video released Monday shows the events leading up to a Plainfield Township man's death, after he was questioned by Kent County Sheriff's deputies.

The video shows 26-year-old Jose Baez in the backseat of a patrol car having what his fiancée thought was a seizure.

The 26-year-old shakes and then falls on his side and lies prone for about five minutes before a backup officer and an ambulance arrives. His body twitches at times.

Debode calls to the victim and checks on him several times. He does not administer help or check the man's pulse, standard procedure according to Kent County Sheriff Larry Stelma.

When a second deputy arrives, Debode assists in getting Baez out of the cruiser. The man screams incoherently at Debode and resists the officer, but authorities do not believe his actions were aggressive. Stelma said Baez appears disoriented in the video.

"The officer did a great job monitoring him and making sure he's on his side to not get into an asphyxiation-type thing," Stelma said.

Debode did not enter the vehicle because of the risks involved, Stelma said.

"There's not a lot of room to maneuver back there and you don't go in with an unrestrained person," Stelma said.

There was no blood visible on Baez's yellow shirt during the video. Stelma said Baez was not injured while he was in custody, and police had no altercation with him.

The result of Monday's autopsy was inconclusive, Stelma said. The medical examiner is awaiting results of a toxicology screen to see if drugs factored into Baez's death.

"There was no obvious sign or causation of death," he said.

But Baez's mother and girlfriend say they will not let the matter rest.

Campos and Barclay say Baez was a kind and caring person, despite a troubled past that included a stint in prison for armed robbery.

"Even good people make mistakes," said Barclay, who was at her apartment at 4126 Spruce Hollow Drive NE when police placed Baez in the back of the cruiser Saturday.

Despite the fact that there was a court-issued "no contact" order between Baez and Barclay, 31, because of earlier domestic violence allegations, the two were together recently for a trip to Las Vegas and had seen each other over the holidays.

At the time of his death, Baez was being investigated for a domestic dispute he and Barclay had early Friday morning, police said. Deputies returned to the home, near Five Mile Road and the East Beltline Avenue NE, about 10 p.m. Saturday after another argument.

In the first dispute, Baez allegedly assaulted Barclay, who declined medical attention when police arrived. The man was gone by the time officers got to the house, police said.

On Saturday, Baez answered the deputy's knock and followed him to the cruiser for questioning, police said.

Baez was familiar to police. In July, he was charged with breaking and entering, illegally using a motor vehicle, driving while his license was suspended and failure to stop at the scene of a property damage crash.

In December, he pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a vehicle and the rest of the charges were dropped.

In October, Baez was charged with third-degree home invasion, severing a phone line and domestic violence. He was ordered not to have any contact with Barclay -- although she posted a $5,000 bond in each of his cases, allowing him to be free until trial. She said she also paid for his lawyers, even though it was her car that was he was using illegally.

In the second case, Baez pleaded guilty to third-degree home invasion and the rest of the charges were dropped. He was scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 15.

Court records also show Baez did seven years in prison for armed robbery from 1997 when he was 16-year-old.

Services for Baez will be held Friday with visitation from 5 to 7 p.m. at Gillespie Funeral Chapel, 1865 Eastern Ave. SE.


http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2007/12/death_in_cop_car_leaves_questi.html