A suspected drunken driver died after being pulled over by Minneapolis police early Wednesday. Officers said he swallowed a plastic bag of suspected crack cocaine.
Marcus James Burrell, 38, was stopped about 2:30 a.m. at 23rd Avenue and Grand Street NE. When officers determined that he was intoxicated, he was placed into a squad without incident, said Sgt. William Palmer.
Officers then saw Burrell show "signs of a medical emergency" and called for a paramedic. The officers gave first aid, and when the paramedics arrived, they removed the bag from the man's airway, he said.
Burrell died at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.
Homicide and internal affairs units will investigate.
DAVID CHANEN
