Phoenix police have determined that a man who became unresponsive and later died after a fight with family members was killed.
Bill Blancas' death was considered a homicide, according to police in an Aug. 10 news release. The 36-year-old was found unresponsive when police went to a home near 44th Street and Baseline Road around 4 a.m. on July 28.
Blancas was being held stomach-down by others when officers entered the home, according to police body-worn camera footage released by the Police Department. Someone in the background is heard saying Blancas might be knocked out.
Someone in the footage told officers they didn't know what was going on with Blancas, but that he was having outbursts. Police, in the news release, said family members shared
details that led officers to handcuff Blancas.
Blancas appeared unresponsive in the footage. Officers, as they assessed him, made comments that Blancas' eyes were dilated, he didn't have a pulse and started to feel cold. They took the handcuffs off of him, a little over two minutes after they put them on.
When fire-medical personnel arrived, officers told them Blancas was completely unresponsive. The fire-medical personnel, like the officers, also said Blancas felt cold. They began CPR on him.
Blancas was taken to the hospital, where he died.
The day after the incident, Phoenix police said they would release a Critical Incident Briefing in the next two weeks, in which they share details of what happened. Those videos are typically reserved for police shootings but could also include instances where an officer's use of force resulted in someone's death, people who died in custody while actively resisting and any other encounters at the Police Chief's discretion.
Based on what investigators now know, police said the case does not require a Critical Incident Briefing. But they did release the body camera footage that showed officers arriving at the home, handcuffing and unhandcuffing Blancas and fire-medical's response.
The Department's Professional Standards Bureau was conducting an administrative investigation regarding the incident.
A Phoenix police spokesperson did not immediately answer if investigators had any suspects in the case or the basis of the administrative investigation.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix police say man who went unresponsive during fight was killed
