A 54-year-old man died of an apparent heart attack after he tried to run away from police inside Manhattan’s Riverside Park, police sources said Saturday.
Cops patrolling through the park found the man drinking an open container of alcohol by W. 137th St. and Riverside Drive at about 10:05 p.m. on Thursday.
When the man couldn’t provide police with any identification, the officers took him into custody, a police source with knowledge of the case said.
They were escorting him from the park when he bolted away from them.
The cops chased after him and tackled him to the ground, the police source said. A few moments later, the man claimed he was having trouble breathing.
EMS rushed the man to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital, where he died following some kind of cardiac episode, officials said. His name was not immediately disclosed as cops track down family members.
The tackle was a standard NYPD takedown and not overly aggressive, the police source said.
An autopsy has been slated to determine exactly how the man died.
Since he was in custody, detectives of the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division is reviewing the case. None of the officers involved have been disciplined or removed from patrol as the investigation continues, officials said.
