Orange County DA: Man who resisted Santa Ana police officers died as a result of drug intoxication

Prosecutors said Friday, March 29 that a man who acted aggressively as Santa Ana police officers tried to restrain him in July 2018 died as a result of drug intoxication.

Two officers responded to a fight between two males at an apartment in the 3400 block of South Plaza Drive in Santa Ana.

One of the officers heard yelling from inside the apartment and called out. Phillip Andrew Diaz, Jr., 47, exited the upstairs apartment and appeared to be under the influence of a stimulant, the investigation letter by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office details.

Both officers grabbed Diaz, of Santa Ana, by the arms as he tried to run past them. Diaz’s father said his son had been using methamphetamine prior to his death.

The sweat-soaked Diaz shouted “unintelligibly” and struggled with officers who laid him on the grass to handcuff him. Officers called paramedics while Diaz was handcuffed and a third officer arrived who took hold of the man’s legs because he was kicking.

Shortly after, Diaz screamed then moaned and no longer resisted. An officer called his name but he did not respond. They could not find a pulse and one officer started chest compressions while the other ran to get a first aid kid with Narcan, a nasal spray used for the treatment of opioid overdoses.

The officers administered a dose with no effect. Paramedics who arrived found Diaz to be in cardiac arrest and he was pronounced dead at a hospital about an hour after police initially responded to the apartment.

A forensic pathologist ruled the death accidental drug intoxication from the combined effects of amphetamine and methamphetamine, the prosecutor’s letter states. The details showed Diaz had a history of drug abuse, diabetes and a heart condition. Investigators did not find any criminal culpability on the part of the officers involved.