CLEVELAND, July 26 (UPI) -- A Cleveland man was sentenced to prison for the cardiac arrest and death of a police officer who was chasing him, court records indicate.
Malcolm Bryant accepted the four-year sentence from Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John Russo after pleading guilty to assault on a peace officer, escape and involuntary manslaughter of victim Thomas Patton II, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported Monday.
"You are not the first person, Mr. Bryant, to come before me after to pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter because somebody lost a life unexpectedly during a crime," Russo said during the sentencing. "Obviously, it wasn't intended for the officer to demise the way he did."
Bryant's charges stem from a March 13 incident in which he was asked to leave Marc's discount store in Cleveland Heights where he was alleged to have been harassing two female employees, the newspaper said.
Bryant spit in a security guard's face and took off after being told he was under arrest.
After officer Thomas Patton II arrived, he gave chase but stopped and put his hands on his knees. After he resumed the chase, he went into cardiac arrest and collapsed, the Plain Dealer said.
He was transported to Huron Hospital where he died.
