Bodycam shows Phoenix police interactions with man who had 107-degree body temperature
By: -----
Phoenix, AZ - Phoenix police released new details about what led up to the death of a man whose body temperature had reached 107 degrees.
On July 28, a 911 caller told a dispatcher about 4 p.m. that a man, possibly unhoused, was acting erratically and broke a window at a north Phoenix apartment complex near Interstate 17 and Campbell Avenue. The man was roaming around, the person said in the call, which was shared by police in a Critical Incident Briefing video on Aug. 11.
Sgt. John Buchanan, in the briefing video, said responding officers saw that the man, Jesse Fred, was lethargic and bleeding from an injury to his face.
The 42-year-old man was surrounded by a wall of the complex, a bush, and a gate when officers arrived, according to body-camera footage shared in the briefing video.
In the footage, Fred wasn't very responsive when officers asked him if he could hear them, if he had any weapons and when he was informed that he was detained. Officers told Fred they wanted to help him, but they needed him to comply.
Buchanan said Fred did not comply when officers told him to. One officer appeared to try to check if Fred was alert in the footage, but he didn't respond. The officer said they needed to act quickly because Fred appeared to be losing consciousness.
Officers then pulled Fred, who was shirtless, out from behind the bush and onto the street and handcuffed him. They carried him to a shaded place near a police vehicle and propped him up on the curb.
A Phoenix Fire Department crew responded and found that Fred's internal temperature was 107 degrees. The Fire Department crew then placed him in a large bag filled with ice to try and lower his body temperature.
Fred was taken to the hospital, where he died. The Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner was still determining the official cause of death.