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Arrest death at Pa. hospital ruled accidental

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PITTSBURGH (AP) – The death of a man during his arrest by a University of Pittsburgh police officer at one of the western Pennsylvania school’s affiliated hospitals has been ruled accidental.

The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office said 39-year-old Ricardo Martinez of Wilkinsburg died of asphyxiation and cited obesity and a weakened and enlarged heart as contributing factors.

UPMC expressed condolences to relatives but said clinical and security personnel “worked at all times to respond appropriately to patient care needs and a difficult security situation.”

Police said Martinez went to UPMC Shadyside Dec. 9 seeking treatment for “mental health issues.” They said a campus officer responded when Martinez allegedly began choking a doctor, and he lost consciousness after the officer and hospital security wrestled him to the ground and handcuffed him.

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