A man died in custody Sunday while waiting to see a judge on a shoplifting charge, according to court records and the NYPD.
Vincent Thoms, 51, was being held at 100 Centre St., which also houses Manhattan Criminal Court, when police called for emergency medical workers around 6:45 p.m. Sunday, department officials said Monday.
The NYPD said Thoms was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A police official said Thoms was arrested at a CVS in East Harlem and became combative in custody, spitting at medical personnel. Thoms was placed in the medical holding facility at central booking, and was conscious and alert when the NYPD called EMS, the official said.
But after EMS arrived, Thoms had three seizures, the police official said. He was taken to the hospital, where he died, police said. The department’s Force Investigation Division was looking into the incident.
According to court records and a criminal complaint, Thoms had been due to appear in court for the shoplifting case on Monday.
Information for his lawyer was not immediately available.
In a statement, the Legal Aid Society said it was “heartbroken” to learn of Thoms’ death, and called for the City Council to question what the group called the NYPD’s “overuse” of custodial arrests for low-level charges.
Last year, police notified the public of nine deaths at NYPD holding facilities. At least four of those deaths were for low-level offenses like drug possession and petit larceny, according to officials and records. After calls from lawmakers and advocates, the city’s Department of Investigation launched an inquiry into the deaths.
Police said Thoms lived in East Harlem, about 10 blocks south of where he was arrested.
This story has been updated with more information.
