In a baffling discovery, a deceased individual was found inside a squad car stationed at the Azusa Police Department, and authorities believe the body might have been there for several days.
The unsettling find was made on Thursday afternoon when the man’s body was located in the back seat of a patrol vehicle that was out of service and parked prominently in front of the police station in downtown Azusa. This was confirmed by Rocky Wenrick, the Chief of Police.
According to Chief Wenrick, Azusa Police officials were completely unaware that the man had managed to enter the vehicle. At the time he accessed the patrol car, he was not under the department’s custody.
The deceased had a previous run-in with the law, having been arrested on March 20 for charges related to driving under the influence and child endangerment. However, he was released from custody the following Monday, as reported by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
Details remain unclear regarding how the man gained entry to the squad car or how long he had been there before his body was discovered, leaving authorities with unanswered questions about the circumstances of his death.
Azusa Police Captain Robert Landeros expressed the department’s surprise, stating, “We had no knowledge he got into a (police) car,” according to the Tribune.
But a camera had recorded the man entering the backseat of the unlocked police car, Landeros said, the paper reported.
The vehicle was awaiting maintenance, which is a common practice as patrol units are regularly cycled in and out of service and new vehicles await equipment installation, said Wenrick.
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“The vehicle had been left unlocked, and it should have been secured,” Wenrick said.
Azusa police are conducting a criminal investigation into the incident, according to Wenrick.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner will determine the man’s cause of death, which remained unknown Friday.
The Azusa Police Department retained an outside investigative firm to conduct an independent investigation into the entire incident, Wenrick said, including determining why the vehicle was not locked.
