Elderly man, who grabbed clerk after told to pay for plastic bag, dies in police custody

KANAGAWA (TR) – An elderly man who acted violently at a used-goods store in Hadano City this week later died in custody, police said, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Feb. 7).

At around 2:50 p.m. on Thursday, a clerk at the store told the man, 66, that it would be necessary for him to pay for a plastic bag for his purchases.

The man, a resident of Odawara City, then grabbed the clerk by the chest. After the employee tipped off police, about five officers arrived at the store and apprehended the man by taking hold of his head and limbs.

At around 4:50 p.m., the man’s condition turned for the worse while two officers examined his personal articles at the Hadano Police Station. He died at a hospital shortly after 6 p.m., police said, according to the Kanagawa Shimbun (Feb. 7).

Police will use the results of an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Tatsuya Ishihara, the vice chief of the Hadano Police Station, said, “It is likely that appropriate measures were taken, but the cause of death is under investigation.”