Medical examiner calls death of Salem man restrained by Norwich police an accident

A 28-year-old Salem man whose death is being investigated by the Office of Inspector General died from drug use, a mix of fentanyl and cocaine, according to a ruling this week by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The medical examiner's determination that the Oct. 1 death of Jacob J. Evans was accidental was immediately met with skepticism by his mother Donna Dunphy. Her attempts to obtain police body camera footage of her son's interaction with Norwich police officers has been rebuffed for months, and the lack of that footage has left her with questions about his treatment at the hands of police. Dunphy sat by her son's hospital bed for two weeks before his death, and said it was clear from all of her son's medical treatments that he did not suffer a drug overdose. "I absolutely don't believe that cause of death," Dunphy said. "He was admitted for respiratory failure, not anything to do with drugs. I watched him die from a brain infection. That fungal infection from his lungs went to his brain." Evans, who his mother described as a recovering addict with a bright future, died at Yale New Haven Hospital. He was initially hospitalized Sept. 15 at Backus Hospital in Norwich after police and medical personnel reported finding him behind Illiano's Restaurant at 257 W. Town St. A short redacted incident report from police shows Evans had knocked on the back door of the business asking for water. When police and firefighters arrived, Evans was in his boxer shorts, "screaming and rolling in the dirt" and appeared to be under the influence, the police report states. "Evans became highly agitated when I attempted to pick him off the ground. Evans began to be combative by kicking his legs. Evans was placed in double-locking handcuffs. I observed small lacerations on Evans face from laying in pricker bushes," Norwich police officer Matthew Pagan wrote in his one-page report. Evans was taken to the hospital and did not face any criminal charges. At the hospital, Dunphy said Evans' throat and lungs were clogged with leaves and dirt, which she said eventually led to rhabdomyolysis, a medical condition that can lead to organ damage, kidney failure and death. The medical examiner's full report, shared by Dunphy, lists "acute kidney failure with rhabdomyolysis and metabolic acidosis, anmnestic" as one of the conditions found during the autopsy. The medical examiner's report also lists acute delirium with hypothermia, superficial blunt injuries of head, torso and extremities, and obesity among the findings. It is unclear from the toxicology report if the amount of cocaine and fentanyl in Evans' system would be enough to cause an overdose. Dunphy said since the cause of her son's death was not officially listed as an accidental overdose, she remains confused about why the official cause is listed as "substance use." A spokesperson for the medical examiner's office did not elaborate. The Day has a pending Freedom of Information request for police documentation and body camera footage of police interaction with Evans on the day he was taken to the hospital. "I will never know until I see that footage what happened to him," Dunphy said. "It definitely wasn't an overdose." Norwich Police Chief Patrick Daley said the department would not release the body camera footage until it had received a report from the inspector general's office. The police reports, Daley said, is part of an "open and active investigation" and would not be released until the investigation is completed. The Office of Inspector General's investigation into the in-custody death of Jacob Evans remains pending. A spokesperson for the office said the medical examiner's report will be incorporated into its final report. g.smith@theday.com Editor's note: This version clarifies that Evans was not charged with a crime by Norwich police.