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Hamilton Township police responding to a trespassing call arrested Mario Terruso, of Mays Landing, shortly after 1 p.m. Sept. 15, 2019, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.
They processed Terruso and sent him to the county lockup after finding an outstanding warrant, Grewal said.
Terruso began feeling ill at the jail, so corrections officers began preparing to transport him to the hospital, the attorney general said.
Footage released by Grewal on Friday shows Terruso groaning repeatedly for nearly two minutes before aid is rendered by officers and EMS personnel.
He then becomes agitated as officers struggle to restrain him.
Still groaning and sweating profusely, Terruso becomes unresponsive.
An ambulance arrived at 7:25 p.m. and brought Terruso to the Mainland Campus of AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center at approximately 7:50 p.m., Grewal said Friday.
He was pronounced dead at 2:19 a.m. on September 16, 2019, the attorney general said.
State law and his own guidelines require Grewal’s office to investigate deaths that occur “during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody."
A 10-step process ensures that the investigation are done “in a full, impartial and transparent manner,” he said.
Once the investigation is complete, the results are be presented to a grand jury -- ordinarily consisting of 16 to 23 citizens -- which will determine whether or not criminal charges are in order, the attorney general said.
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