Police report man was being booked on outstanding traffic
warrant
Morgan Hill – A 40-year-old Morgan Hill man died while in police custody Thursday night, according to Morgan Hill police Cmdr. David Swing.
Ronald Blighton was in the booking area of the police station, one wrist handcuffed to a stationary bench, when he went into “medical distress” at 6:45pm, approximately 25 minutes after he was brought into the station.
Swing said he would not go into details about the nature of Blighton’s medical distress, but did say that the officers in the booking area started rescue procedures while waiting for paramedics to arrive. Blighton was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel.
There were no other suspects in custody at the time, Swing said.
The holding cell area was sealed off for evidence collection for the investigation.
“The police department is conducting an investigation into the death of the subject with the assistance of the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, which is standard protocol for these types of incidents,” Swing said in a statement to media.
Blighton was arrested without incident for an outstanding $10,000 traffic warrant from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office after police responded to his residence on Barnell Avenue for a domestic dispute. He did not attempt to struggle or to fight officers, Swing said, and was not restrained in a “wrap” or a “spit hood.”
He may have been intoxicated, according to the earlier call to police.
“The reporting party indicated that he had been drinking and was possibly under the influence,” Swing said.
However, he said he could not state whether Blighton was intoxicated or not until toxicology reports return from the lab.
A representative from the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office said Friday afternoon that no cause of death could be released until the report was completed.
A coroner’s office representative, accompanied by an MHPD officer, notified Blighton’s wife of his death.
A MHPD chaplain was called to come to the station to offer assistance for officers who wanted to talk to her.
Swing said that while he could not say definitively that no one in custody has died in the history of the MHPD, department veterans say they do not recall any similar deaths.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@mo*************.com.
