Man Had Seizure, Died After Arrest, Seal Beach Police Say

Police said Friday that a man died last week after going into convulsions following his arrest on suspicion of intoxication.

Martin K. Fritz, 36, developed medical problems one to two minutes after two police arrested him July 11, Capt. Gary Maiten said. Paramedics took Fritz to Long Beach Community Hospital, where he died at 10:30 a.m. July 12, according to a spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

Maiten said police had not planned to release any information about Fritz’s death, but reporters began asking about it Friday. “To be honest, this was a medical aid. This is not the type of thing we would routinely do a press release on,” Maiten said.

He said that Fritz offered no resistance and that officers used no force on him.

Los Angeles County coroner’s spokesman Bob Dambacher said he could not comment on what caused Fritz’s death because a laboratory analysis of toxicology reports are not complete. But the cause of death was originally thought to be natural, Dambacher said.

Court documents show Fritz pleaded guilty in April, 1990, to possession of cocaine and heroin. He also pleaded guilty in 1988 to attempting to steal money from a clerk at a fast food restaurant, the documents show.

The incident began shortly after 5 p.m. on July 11 when police were called to the College Park West area by residents who reported a trespasser in their back yards.

Officers searched the area and were directed by residents to a suspect matching the description of the alleged trespasser, Maiten said.

Officers arrested and handcuffed Fritz at 5:47 p.m. in the flood control channel behind the housing tract and detained him on suspicion of intoxication, Maiten said. When Fritz went into a seizure and stopped breathing, officers Kay Moulton and Jeff Ewert performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him and called paramedics.

Maiten said the Orange County district attorney’s office is going to assist in an investigation at the request of the Seal Beach Police Department.

Fritz, a tall, blond man, was described by an old friend as a man who loved to surf and ride his motorcycle. Robert Keele, who graduated from Villa Park High School with Fritz in 1971, said he was single and had no children.

Members of Fritz’s family declined to comment on Friday.

About 100 people attended a funeral for Fritz at Forest Lawn in Cypress on Tuesday, he said.

Staff writer James Gomez contributed to this report.