Police give details on suspect's death

DEPEW, N.Y. (WIVB) - News 4 is learning more about a burglary suspect who died while in police custody on Friday.

Depew Police Chief Stanley Carwile says officers responded to a burglary in progress call early Tuesday morning at Joseph's Catering on Columbia Avenue in the village. Richard Metcalf, 35, was located in the back of the building, and was eventually confronted by an officer, Carwile tells News 4.

The officer told Metcalf not to move, Carwile says, and then allegedly charged the officer with a wrench in his hand. The chief says the officer deployed a taser gun and waited for back up.

Metcalf was then taken into custody, and police had paramedics meet them at the Depew Police station, according to Carwile. As a precaution, Metcalf was transported to ECMC because of an "elevated heart rate," Carwile says.

Metcalf was eventually released from ECMC and transported back to Depew where he was arraigned and placed in a cell block. Chief Carwile says he personally saw Metcalf and detected "no bruising and no abrasions on his face."

"He was calm the entire time he was here," Carwile tells News 4.

He says Metcalf was turned over to the Erie County Sheriff's Office and booked into the Holding Center.

After Metcalf was in the sheriff's custody, he was again transported to ECMC. Attorney Thomas Casey, who was hired to handle Metcalf's criminal case, tells News 4 that it appears Metcalf died of a heart attack.