Long Island man who spent the night at local precinct dies in police custody: officials

BAY SHORE, N.Y. (PIX11) – The Suffolk County Police Department Internal Affairs Bureau launched an investigation after a man died while in police custody on Friday morning, officials said.

Joseph Leonard, 58, of West Islip was arrested on Thursday after he rear-ended another car that was stopped at a red light around 5:30 p.m., police said. When officers arrived at the scene at Pine Aire Drive and Fifth Avenue in Brentwood, they found Leonard unconscious behind the wheel of his vehicle, authorities said. Officers performed first aid and administered Narcan, an overdose-reversal drug, according to police.

Leonard was arrested and taken to South Shore University, where he was treated and released into police custody, officials said.

Leonard was charged with driving while impaired by drugs and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, arrest records show. Leonard was also issued a summons for driving with a revoked license and held overnight at the Third Precinct in Bay Shore.

On Friday morning, when officers were preparing to transport Leonard to court, they found him not breathing in his cell, police said. First aid was administered, but Leonard was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The New York State Attorney General’s Office and the State Department of Correction were notified and responded to the scene.

Leonard’s cause of death will be determined by an autopsy from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner.

It was unclear how long Leonard was left unsupervised.

Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here .

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