It took a press release to the media for a former Egg Harbor Township man’s family to get information on how he died in State Police custody, the family’s attorney said.
Marshall Zamor, 39, of Sicklerville, died March 29, after he was arrested for marijuana possession during a motor vehicle stop on the Atlantic City Expressway.
The father of three minor children died after he was found with an unknown substance in his mouth, and later went into convulsions, according to information released to the media after attorney John Stein took the case public.
“I don’t like the way the state handled this,” Stein told BreakingAC. “I’d been demanding information since Thursday of last week.”
The death was not made public until the attorney's press release.
He said he reached out to the state a last time within an hour before putting out the release asking for the public’s assistance in demanding information.
“It has been over a week since this tragedy occurred and the family is distraught and left to assume some foul play occurred,” Stein wrote.
The death is being investigated, said Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office who gave some details on Zamor’s final hours.
Zamor was pulled over at 11 a.m. March 29 for illegally tinted windows, when the trooper smelled marijuana and called for backup, according to the report.
State Police found two marijuana blunts inside, and Zamor was arrested and brought back to the State Police station on the expressway for processing.
While in a holding cell, troopers saw Zamor with something in his mouth and “made several unsuccessful attempts to remove it,” Aseltine said.
“Zamor appeared find and was speaking to the troopers before, during and after these attempts,” he said. “No force was used by troopers during these attempts, beyond the efforts to swipe the object out of his mouth.”
After the third try, Zamor was handcuffed, according to the report. Shortly after noon, Zamor was seen going into convulsions and lost consciousness.
CPR and use of a defibrillator were not successful, and Zamor was taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center’s Mainland Campus in Galloway Township, where he was pronounced dead. Autopsy results are pending.
Before the response to media requests, Stein said he knew only that Zamor was arrested and died in custody. He confirmed that a victim-witness advocate did speak with the man’s wife, Domnique Zamor, but said she only recalled being asked questions like, “Does he do drugs? Did he do anything behind your back you may not be aware of?”
Stein said the woman felt more like the advocate was trying to get information for police rather than help her.
Since the information was released, Stein said he has been in contact with a detective and was told everything is on surveillance video.
“I’m demanding to receive those as soon as possible,” he said. “We still want to confirm what the state is saying.”
