Man ODs, dies in NYPD custody
Cops’ procedures in search are probed; suspect struggled with drugs
A 28-year-old man died after overdosing while in police custody, sparking an NYPD probe to determine if he was properly searched after he was arrested, the Daily News has learned.
Laron Collington, who was due in court on Thursday, died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Lower Manhattan on Tuesday, four days after his overdose in Manhattan Central Booking.
A source said Collington was arrested by an NYPD detective from Manhattan North Narcotics and it appears he was not properly searched for weapons or other contraband, including drugs.
An NYPD spokesman confirmed Collington was busted in Harlem at 4:55 p.m. Friday and taken to Central Booking, arriving there at 7:08 p.m. He was processed, then placed in a cell.
At 9:38 p.m., officers conducting a routine check of the holding cells found Collington unconscious and unresponsive, the spokesman said, noting: “Officers immediately administered Narcan and other life-saving measures.”
Collington was rushed by medics to the hospital and was placed on life support. Kyle Watters, Collington’s lawyer in a prior drug case, was contacted by prosecutors and told his family what had happened.
The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division, which probes all deaths in custody, has launched an investigation. Officers involved in the incident were being interviewed Thursday.
The state attorney general’s office is reviewing the incident, too, a spokesman said.
Had he lived, Collington, who resided in the Bronx, would have been prosecuted by the Office of Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan.
The same agency nine months ago reached a deal with Collington, who had been indicted after he was accused of selling crack to an undercover officer in June 2021.
Instead of facing jail time, Collington enrolled in an alternative-to-incarceration program and would have been due in court Thursday had he not died, according to Watters.
The attorney said his client tried hard to adhere to terms of the program. He got a laborer’s union job, took classes for different disciplines and passed a number of drug tests, Watters said. About six months ago, he became a father, the lawyer added, and while he had broken up with the mother, he saw his child regularly.
But Collington also stumbled, failing more than one drug test, getting laid off when winter started and battling depression.
“He had times when he was doing well,” Watters said. “And he had time when he wasn’t doing so well, unfortunately.”
Manhattan North Narcotics has been reeling since three detectives were charged in connection with the theft of two bottles of Ace of Spades, the pricey champagne brand owned by Jay-Z, during the 2022 Electric Zoo music festival on Randalls Island.
Det. Jonathan Gonzalez, who joined the NYPD eight years ago and resigned in December, pleaded last month to petty larceny and official misconduct, both misdemeanors.
He was sentenced to 10 days of community service and an alcohol treatment program.
Case are pending against two other detectives — Wojciech Czech, charged with grand larceny and possession of stolen property, and Warren Golden, charged with official misconduct.
After the allegations came to light, then-Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell cleared out Manhattan North Narcotics, transferring a dozen detectives and their supervisors, including Deputy Chief Brian McGee and Inspector Peter Fiorillo.