Angel Cordero, a stabbing suspect who died in police custody in July, died of seizures and complications from substance withdrawal, according to the city Medical Examiner’s office. (Photo by Philippe Theise)
Angel Cordero – the stabbing suspect who died suddenly in the 88th Precinct’s custody in July – died a natural death, suffering “withdrawal syndrome with seizures complicating chronic polysubstance abuse,” a Medical Examiner’s office spokeswoman revealed nearly four months after his death.
The Medical Examiner’s office did not disclose specifically what substances Cordero abused, but his sister, Maribel Taylor, told The Nabe in July that her brother might have abused alcohol. His high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease also played a role in his death, the spokeswoman said.
Cordero’s family did not respond to requests for comment about the cause of death.
During the summer, his grieving nephew, Donovan Mendoza, called his uncle’s death shocking and preventable, adding that it begged for an explanation from the NYPD and the Fire Department’s Emergency Medical Services.
The next day at 1:40 a.m., police summoned the Fire Department’s Emergency Medical Services to aid Cordero, describing him as a “sick patient,” according to Frank Dwyer, an FDNY spokesman. Medics arrived at 5:30 a.m., and by that time, Cordero was dead, Dwyer said.
Donovan Mendoza, 24, Cordero’s nephew, told The Nabe at his uncle’s funeral he believes that if police and EMS got Cordero medical attention more quickly, he could have survived.
“As an agency, both FDNY and NYPD, they have a moral and ethical obligation to fulfill,” Mendoza said at the time. “When you have someone in your custody, it’s your obligation to make sure that person receives the type of treatment that’s fair and just. We just want to get to the bottom of what happened.”
