A former Egg Harbor Township man who died in police custody may have swallowed a baggie, according to a preliminary report.
Marshall Zamor, 39, of Sicklerville, died March 29, after he was taken into State Police custody for marijuana possession during a motor vehicle stop on the Atlantic City Expressway.
A plastic bag was found obstructing Zamor's larynx, along with a firm white substance, according to the preliminary report from the Attorney General's Office, which is investigating the case.
But the family wants proof.
"We demand the videos to confirm the state's comments," said John Stein the Atlantic City attorney representing the family.
The family held a press conference in Trenton on Tuesday, along with Black Lives Matter New Jersey. Stein said the family is demanding transparency.
"The non-disclosure policy is unfair to the families like the Zamors who had a loved one die while in police custody," he said. "They are left without information that is necessary for closure and instead are provided anxiety and fear."
Nothing had been released about the March 29 death until Stein sent out a press release to the media urging the public to demand answers.
The father of three minor children died after he was found with an unknown substance in his mouth, and later went into convulsions, the Attorney General's Office said in first releasing information.
Zamor was in a holding cell when he was seen hiding something in his mouth, according to the report. Officers tried to remove it. On the second unsuccessful try, troopers called for EMS to respond, reporting that a prisoner had ingested suspected crack cocaine, the report says.
Toxicology tests and a final autopsy are still pending.
The family is having its own independent autopsy done, Stein said. They have only preliminary findings at this time, and are still waiting on results.
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