Autopsy links death of UCLA alumnus to drug use

Samuel See, a former UCLA graduate student and assistant professor at Yale University, died of a heart attack related to acute methamphetamine and amphetamine intoxication, according to an autopsy released Monday by the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

See, who graduated from UCLA in 2009 with a doctoral degree in English, died in the early morning of Nov. 24 while in the custody of the New Haven Police Department. His death was accidental, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

A day prior to his death, New Haven police received a call from See’s residence regarding a domestic dispute. See’s husband, Sunder Ganglani, visited See’s house to retrieve a number of his belongings. The two were in See’s house for two and a half hours before police arrived at the scene, according to a statement released in early December from New Haven police.

See and Ganglani had previously placed protective orders – court orders intended to prevent harassment by forbidding contact between individuals – against one another.

When police arrived at See’s home on Nov. 23, they charged Ganglani with violating See’s protective order and informed See that his husband also had a protective order against him. New Haven police arrested See, who resisted physically, at one point yelling at the officers, “I will kill you. … I will destroy you,” according to the police statement.

During the incident See was cut above his eye. He was brought to the Yale-New Haven Hospital by Emergency Medical Services for treatment before police transported him to the Union Avenue Detention Facility in New Haven shortly after 9 p.m.

Police charged See with interfering with police activity and violating a protective order. At 6 a.m. the following morning, See was found unresponsive in his cell. Officials at the facility and New Haven Fire and Rescue both attempted unsuccessfully to resuscitate See.

New Haven police did not provide a comment regarding the autopsy.

A formal statement will be released by the department at the conclusion of its investigation into See’s death, said Officer David Hartman, a spokesman for the department.

Compiled by Loic Hostetter, Bruin senior staff. Contributing reports from Yael Levin, Bruin senior staff.

 

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