Man who died in Brownsville jail had white powder, report details
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — An official custodial death report details how a 28-year-old man was found dead November 2022 in a Brownsville jail cell — including new information that he was found with a white powder.
The Brownsville Police Department filed the custodial death report Dec. 29, 2022, with the Texas attorney general's office, providing details about the death of Edgar Alejandro Hernandez, who was in the custody of police when he died.
At 2:35 a.m Nov. 29, 2022 a detention officer at the Brownsville Police Department City jail discovered Hernandez unresponsive in a cell, the report stated. A second officer arrived to provide assistance and began doing chest compressions on Hernandez while EMS were en route the the jail.
At 2:45 a.m., EMS arrived to assist Hernandez.
"EMS personnel discovered a piece of white toilet paper containing a small clear plastic bag with white powdery substance inside of it on Mr. Hernandez's person," the report stated.
According to the report, Hernandez was pronounced dead at 2:48 a.m. At the time of the custodial death report, an autopsy report was pending.
In a previous ValleyCentral report, police said that trauma did not seem to be a factor.
“The male subject was arrested on [Monday], and no force was used to effect the arrest,” Investigator Martin Sandoval, public information officer for the Brownsville Police Department, told ValleyCentral. “There are no signs of trauma or suicide.”