Probe: Death of Fair Lawn man pepper-sprayed by police was accidental

A state investigation has found police officers didn't cause the death of a man who was pepper-sprayed and later died at a hospital.

News 12 Staff

Dec 30, 2019, 11:26 PM

Updated 1,749 days ago

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(AP) - A state investigation has found police officers didn't cause the death of a man who was pepper-sprayed and later died at a hospital.
Twenty-five-year-old Steven Sherlock of Fair Lawn died in March at St. Joseph's University Medical Center shortly after he was brought there by police investigating a barroom brawl in Paterson.
The attorney general's office concluded police were justified in using the pepper spray and that Sherlock's death was accidental.
An autopsy found he died of a heart condition exacerbated by acute alcohol intoxication.
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