Former running back Doug Martin died in police struggle



Former Buccaneers running back Doug Martin died in a struggle with Oakland police after he wandered “disoriented” into a home on his block, his family and the Oakland Police Department said Monday.

Martin’s parents “were actively seeking medical assistance” for their son “and had contacted local authorities for support” in the days leading up to his death, they said in a statement released late Monday by Martin’s former agent Brian Murphy. Early Saturday the 36-year-old Martin became “overwhelmed and disoriented” and fled a family home he’d been staying in, Murphy said.

Martin meandered through backyards and banged on doors along his Oakland Hills street, prompting numerous 911 calls, The Mercury News reported. He ended up inside a home two doors down from his, just as simultaneous calls came in about a break-in and a medical emergency related to the same person, the Oakland Police Department said in a statement Saturday.

Officers tried to detain Martin, but “a brief struggle ensued” and he “became unresponsive,” police said. He died later at a hospital. On Monday the department identified Martin as the “in-custody death” from Saturday, noting that there would be no further comment pending investigation.

The city was left in shock especially given that the fan favorite’s death had happened in police custody. However, questions remain, such as how many officers were involved and put on administrative leave, how and why Martin ended up in his neighbor’s house, how long the police struggle lasted, and how officers restrained him.

“It’s tragic, it’s really tragic,” neighbor Lynne Belmont, 74, told The Mercury News.

While lauded on the field and by his peers as a phenomenal running back, Martin had struggled behind the scenes, his family said.

“Privately, Doug battled mental health challenges that profoundly impacted his personal and professional life,” the family said through Murphy. “Ultimately, mental illness proved to be the one opponent from which Doug could not run.”

With News Wire Services



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