A Bronx man fought cops trying to arrest him — but never reached for an officer’s gun before he died after the struggle, a witness said.
A Bronx man fought cops trying to arrest him — but never reached for an officer’s gun before he died shortly after the struggle, a witness told the Daily News.
“He was being defiant,” said Herman Garment, 68, who witnessed the arrest of Dwayne Pritchett, 48, inside his Reservoir Ave. apartment in Jerome Park on Sunday right after 4:50 p.m.
“I would never say Dwayne was reaching for one of the guns,” added Garment, who lives in the apartment with Pritchett’s father.
Police say Pritchett — who died in custody several hours later — tried to grab a cop’s gun while he was cuffed on the floor of the apartment.
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The death is being investigated.
It all started when Pritchett’s father, Prentis Pritchett, 71, called police after his son refused to leave a bedroom inside the third-floor apartment.
He had gone into the room after his father admonished his drinking and drug use, Garment said.
When officers arrived, the younger Pritchett refused to leave the room and appeared drunk, according to Garment.
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But he opened the door a crack and officers forced him out.
Upon entering the room, one of the cops spotted a handgun magazine on the floor, according to the police account. The officers then quickly handcuffed an angry Pritchett, said Garment, who watched the entire incident from the apartment’s living room and kitchen.
“That’s the only way they could get him under control,” Garment said. “He was like grunting, being boisterous by moving around, rolling around.”
The father of two young children spit at the officers and didn’t talk during the tussle, added Garment.
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Pritchett lost consciousness at some point, police sources said. Minutes later, cops called paramedics, who began to furiously work on him as he was handcuffed on the floor.
He died in New York Presbyterian/The Allen Hospital at about 6:45 p.m., according to sources. The medical examiner’s office has not yet determined the cause of death.
None of the officers were wearing body cameras as the program is still being implemented.
Garment said he believes the younger Pritchett was dealing drugs and had been drinking brandy before cops were called.
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The senior Pritchett was arrested after cops found a Beretta .40 caliber gun and crack, cocaine and heroin in the room.
On Monday, Pritchett’s girlfriend, Alotisia Stevens, 42, questioned the police version of events that he tried to grab a cop’s gun.
“They’re stating that the room he was in, there was a gun,” she said. “If I have my own gun, and I’m (under) threat from the officer or anybody around me, why would I need to take your gun when I got my own?”
Stevens also asked how Pritchett could have reached for an officer’s gun if he was handcuffed.
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“It doesn’t make sense,” she said.
Pritchett struggled with crack addiction years ago but had been clean for a while and worked as a barber, according to Stevens.
