A 35-year-old man who became unresponsive in El Mirage police custody on July 4 died from a cocaine-related heart rhythm disturbance, according to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office. The death was ruled accidental, with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and chronic drug use listed as contributing factors. Peter Patin Jr. was taken to a hospital after officers responded to a domestic violence call at a home near El Mirage and Cactus roads. He later died there. The medical examiner’s report, published Oct. 9, said toxicology testing found cocaine and benzoylecgonine, a substance produced when the body processes cocaine. The report also noted Patin had a history of cocaine use. According to the report, family members told authorities Patin had used cocaine earlier that day and had become physically aggressive, including throwing objects at relatives and children. When officers arrived, the report described Patin as aggressive and noncompliant. Officers used Tasers to get him out of the house and physical force to handcuff him. Body-camera footage described in the report showed Patin shouting and speaking rapidly while officers restrained and moved him. He was sweating heavily and said, “I can’t breathe,” while seated on a sidewalk, the report said. Officers later reported that he was lying on his side when his breathing changed and he became unresponsive. The medical examiner said the footage showed no excessive weight on Patin’s torso or apparent neck compression when he became unresponsive. The report also found no evidence that officers’ restraint methods, use of an electrical device or physical trauma caused or contributed to his cardiac arrest and death. The finding establishes the medical examiner’s conclusion about the cause of death; the report’s account does not, by itself, resolve broader questions about police practices or oversight in custody-related deaths.