The family of a 37-year-old man, who was found dead inside an Azusa police car last week — a few days after he was released from custody — demanded answers from law enforcement on Monday.
Lawyers and family of Eric Valencia, a father of two whose family said he was beloved in the community, believe Azusa police didn’t do enough to search for Valencia after loved ones reported him missing, not knowing he was in a parked patrol car just outside the doors of the Azusa Police Department at 725 N. Alameda Ave.
Before releasing footage to the public, police showed some videos to Valencia’s family, including surveillance footage that showed Valencia entering the back passenger seat of the police car. But the family’s lawyers said many unanswered questions remain, including what happened between when Valencia got in the police car on Monday, March 23, and when an employee discovered his body days later and why the patrol car’s back passenger door was left unlocked.
“We want those answers. The family wants those answers,” said Michael Carrillo, an attorney representing the family. “They deserve those answers.”
Julia McCormick, Valencia’s sister-in-law, said he called her while in custody, sounding upset and explaining what happened. She and other family went to court on Tuesday, March 24, where they eventually learned he had been released from custody the day prior.
McCormick called police confused and wanting answers. Her brother-in-law, she said, lived within blocks of the police station and would have returned home to check on his grandfather in hospice and his children. Valencia’s partner visited the station the same day and tried to file a missing persons report, but police brushed off the situation, McCormick said.
Staff at the Alameda Avenue station said they saw Valencia walking toward a Metro station after his release from custody, so family members called other police stations and area hospitals in hopes of finding him. On Wednesday night, McCormick went to the police station to file a missing persons report.
“I see cars right here, and little did I know that he was so close to me but yet so far,” McCormick said, breaking into tears.
“I come to find out,” she continued, “that he was here in a car the whole time, the whole time. They didn’t take us serious when we came to tell them.”
McCormick said police didn’t call her on Thursday to say they had found Valencia’s body. She learned of his death from the coroner’s office.
Valencia was released from custody March 23 after being arrested March 20 on suspicion of driving under the influence and felony child endangerment, said Azusa Police Chief Rocky Wenrick.
A preliminary alcohol screening found Valencia had a blood-alcohol level double the legal limit, Wenrick said.
While in custody from Friday through Monday, Wenrick said staff provided Valencia three meals a day and checked on him every half hour. Police presented the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, but it was declined pending official blood test results.
When Valencia was released, Wenrick said he showed no signs of distress and was given food before he left. Footage police played showed Valencia in all blue, gathering his shoes and other belongings as an officer escorted him from the station.
Surveillance footage showed Valencia appear to look at one of the patrol cars before moving to the next, going in the back passenger door and eventually closing it. Video didn’t show Valencia leave the vehicle at any point, Wenrick said.
Family officially reported Valencia missing on Wednesday, March 25, at 8 p.m., Wenrick said.
Capt. Robert Landeros said officials didn’t know Valencia got into a police car until a civilian employee with the department found Valencia unresponsive around 4:50 a.m. on Thursday, when he was preparing to wash the car, which wasn’t in use pending mandatory maintenance.
Surveillance footage showed the employee get in the driver’s seat of the patrol car, exit, check the back seat and appear to make a call before several police personnel left the station to help.
Paramedics pronounced Valencia dead minutes later. He didn’t have visible signs of trauma on his body, Wenrick said. The medical examiner has not released a cause of death in the case.
Detectives are conducting an internal investigation that will be reviewed by county officials, and an outside firm will investigate why the police car was left unlocked, police said. Wenrick said the civilian employee who first found Valencia didn’t have a body camera, but other police officials who responded would have worn body cameras that may have captured footage of the discovery.
Police learned Valencia had a working cellphone, and records showed he didn’t make a call to 911 while inside the patrol car, Wenrick said.
“We just want answers,” McCormick said. “Our family is devastated. We love Eric with all our heart. This is the biggest loss of our family.”