Two police officers won't face criminal charges in the death of a Vineland man who died last year of respiratory distress on his way to the hospital while in police custody.
Cumberland County prosecutors say a grand jury declined to indict the two Vineland officers in the March 2015 death of Phillip White. The officers' names have not been released.
White, 32, died on March 31, 2015. Officials say the ordeal began that day shortly before 11 a.m. when officers responded to a call for service for White on the 100 block of Grape Street in Vineland, New Jersey.
In a 911 recording, a caller tells the dispatcher that White is “freaking out,” “going crazy,” and “screaming.”
“He’s screaming up there,” the caller says. “I don’t know what the h*** is wrong with him.”
Officials said responding officers called for medical assistance for White who appeared to “be in respiratory distress.” White was also handcuffed, restrained and then placed in an emergency vehicle that traveled to the hospital while an officer was inside, according to officials.
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At some point, White became unresponsive and medical personnel instituted CPR, according to investigators. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital. What remained in dispute were the events that occurred immediately before White’s death.
Witnesses told NBC10 the responding officers were extremely physical with White after he was already restrained and unconscious on the street.
“They punched him, stomped him, kicked him and then they let the dog out of the car," said Ricardo Garcia. "The dog bit him on his face and around his body. There's no call for that.”
Law enforcement sources disputed witness accounts however, telling NBC10 White engaged in a violent struggle with one of the officers after they called an ambulance for him. They also said at times White was combative and that he never lost consciousness while he was apprehended.
NBC10 obtained cellphone videos taken after police responded to the disorderly persons call. The videos show White lying on the ground surrounded by three officers as well as a barking police dog. It appears to show the dog biting White in the upper body.
Vineland Police Chief Timothy Codispoti told NBC10 the cellphone videos didn't tell the entire story however.
“They’re a part of an incident that is minutes long and those are seconds long, those videos,” Codispoti said. “Clearly what they show is what we hear on the radio. A violent struggle.”
Codispoti told NBC10 White asked for medical attention prior to any struggle with police. He also said White’s hand was on an officer’s gun, reaching for the locking mechanism, at the time of his arrest.
White's relatives and their attorney could not be reached for comment.
