Overview
- Police released security footage Monday that shows Eric Valencia, 37, walking out of the station and getting into the rear of an unlocked, out-of-service patrol car.
- Valencia had been released from custody on March 23 after a DUI and child endangerment arrest, then was found unresponsive in the same car outside the station early Thursday and pronounced dead at the scene.
- Azusa police provided the video and other evidence to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Justice System Integrity Division, opened a criminal investigation, and hired the JL Group for an administrative review.
- The medical examiner has not determined a cause of death, investigators reported no obvious signs of trauma, and records show Valencia had a working phone but made no 911 call from the vehicle.
- Relatives say their missing-person report was not taken seriously and are demanding full access to footage, and the case could force tighter rules for securing parked patrol cars and checking out-of-service units.