A 56-year-old man identified as Felix Lamar Turner died shortly after being taken into police custody on drug charges, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Turner was arrested during a traffic stop conducted by patrol officers on Monday afternoon in the Springfield area, as reported by Action News Jax. The incident occurred in the 1900 block of North Main Street.
The First Coast News reported that Turner was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, use, or possess with intent to use drug paraphernalia, and possession of an open container of alcoholic beverage in vehicle by passenger. He was taken to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Pre-Trial Detention Facility, where, while seated in the back of a patrol vehicle, he began to suffer from "an apparent medical emergency."
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office personnel provided initial medical care and the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department was summoned to render further aid. Turner was subsequently transported to a local medical facility, where he was pronounced dead at approximately 6:50 p.m., detailed in a news release by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. The nature of the medical emergency that led to Turner's demise has yet to be disclosed, as per First Coast News.
As per the accounts provided by News4Jax, preliminary investigations showed no signs of altercation or use of force preceding or during Turner's arrest and transportation. The sheriff's office has engaged its Cold Case and Crime Scene Units to examine the circumstances of the death, while an independent investigation by the Medical Examiner’s Office is also in progress to ascertain the exact cause of death.
