Mahoning Co., BCI probe death of man after arrest

CAMPBELL -- The Mahoning County coroner and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation are investigating the death of man who stopped breathing while in police custody and died two weeks later.
William S. Woodruff, 46, of Coitsville Road, was arrested Sept. 24 and died Thursday afternoon in St. Elizabeth Health Center, where he had been listed in critical condition since being admitted.
According to a police report, Woodruff fell asleep in a chair and stopped breathing while waiting to be booked. The report says officers checked on him three times between 10:30 p.m. and 10:54 p.m. Sept. 24, when they discovered he wasn't breathing.
The report states Woodruff was unresponsive but officers detected "a light pulse through his neck."
Woodruff was arrested after he threatened police with his two dogs -- identified in the police report as Dobermans.
The dogs, which were running loose, had already bitten a 20-year-old Ninth Street woman and a 16-year-old 14th Street boy.
The report states Woodruff appeared to be intoxicated when he was arrested, and was carrying a bottle of liquor.
According to the report, Woodruff told police he wasn't drunk, but that he was high.
Tom Pappas, chief investigator in the Mahoning County coroner's office, said autopsy results will be available in eight to 10 weeks.