OCA Review of In-Custody Death Completed
For Immediate Release: January 15, 2026
The Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney (OCA) announced the completion of its review of an in-custody death that occurred on August 15, 2025. On that date, Alexandria officers responded to a call for service in the 2800 block of North Beauregard Street. They subsequently arrested a male subject for being intoxicated in public. The arrestee was transported to the Alexandria Adult Detention Center where he unfortunately died in the Sallyport while awaiting processing into the facility.
OCA recently completed its legal analysis, declining to bring criminal charges against any person involved in the tragic death. The analysis included a review of investigations completed by the Critical Incident Review Team (CIRT) and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). The CIRT investigation established that Alexandria officers did not use or attempt to use force likely to cause death or serious bodily injury at any point during their interaction with the arrestee. The OCME performed an autopsy on the arrestee and opined that the manner of death in the incident was accidental and that the cause of death was “cocaine and cocaethylene intoxication.”
Based on the OCME’s determination that the death was accidental and the CIRT investigation revealing no causal connection between the actions of any officer and the arrestee’s tragic death, OCA concluded that there was no evidence that any law enforcement officer involved in this incident committed a criminal offense. Therefore, OCA declined to seek charges against any officer involved in the incident.
OCA’s only role is to determine whether a crime was committed. OCA has no role with regard to civil litigation or an administrative review of police policies and procedures. Given the potential for civil litigation and the rules of professional responsibility applicable to public prosecutors, the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney has no further comment regarding its review of the incident.