The department’s gang unit found the man unable to leave the home on his own, and took him to the hospital where he later died.
DALLAS — A man Dallas police were attempting to arrest died in the hospital shortly after police took him into custody Wednesday, officials say.
Just before 12:20 a.m. Wednesday, the Dallas Police Department’s Police Gang Unit responded to a residence in the 200 block of Starr Street regarding an investigation into stolen vehicles after an anonymous tip, police say.
Officers attempted to contact the people inside at the front of the house. Police say the suspect, 53-year-old Pablo Ramos, opened the door before immediately shutting and locking it after seeing the officers.
Additional police were requested at the scene and a perimeter was formed around the location, police say. After more gang unit elements arrived, police asked anyone inside the home to exit. Six people complied but Ramos stayed inside.
Two additional suspects in the house, identified as 28-year-old Johnny Hernandez and 32-year-old Angel Marquez, both had warrants and were arrested, police say.
Officers found a stolen vehicle in the process of being stripped in the home’s backyard, police say, as well as other vehicles on the property that appeared to be stolen.
SWAT later responded and tried to contact Ramos, asking him with a loudspeaker to come out of hiding in the attic and surrender, police say. They also deployed gas in the house to make him leave but to no avail.
After inserting a camera into the attic of the home, SWAT found Ramos unable to exit on his own. Police then cut a hole into the room to safely remove him.
Police took Ramos to a local hospital after a SWAT doctor and Dallas Fire-Rescue started medical aid, but he died at the hospital at 7:53 p.m. that evening.
The Dallas Police Special Investigations Unit is investigating the death in custody, police say, and the Dallas Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy. The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office will also conduct their own investigation.