An investigation is underway after a man being questioned in a murder probe died in police custody on Wednesday after a traffic stop revealed the man had outstanding warrants, and police video shows him getting sick at police headquarters.
It all began on June 21 at 11 a.m., the Dallas Police Department conducted a traffic stop involving a person of interest in an ongoing murder investigation, authorities said. Xzavier Franklin, 39, was taken into custody on outstanding warrants.
Police video, released by police on Monday, shows authorities searching Franklin and putting him in a squad car's back seat.
He was taken to Dallas Police Headquarters to be interviewed regarding the ongoing investigation, authorities said. At the station, officials tell Franklin he will soon speak with a detective as he's placed into an interview room.
After the interview, Franklin told officers he felt ill and needed to go to the hospital. Franklin can be seen vomiting into a trash can. Police bring in paper towels.
At one point, Franklin says he's throwing up blood.
In the video, he can be heard grunting and mumbling. He wipes his face with a paper towel.
Dallas Fire Rescue responded at 3:15 p.m. and took Franklin to a hospital at 3:37 p.m.
He arrived at 4:10 p.m. and died at the hospital at 9 p.m.
How he died was not revealed. Results of an autopsy conducted by the Dallas Medical Examiner on June 23 are pending.
The Dallas Police Special Investigations Unit is conducting a death in custody investigation. The Office of Police Community Oversight and the Dallas County District Attorney's Office were made aware of the incident.
It is the second death in custody involving a Dallas Police officer in 2023, officials said. In January, Dallas police released bodycam footage of a man they say was a combative patient who died in custody after cardiac arrest, the Dallas Morning News reported.
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