Man Dies After Struggle With Police

An Inglewood man under investigation for allegedly hitting his girlfriend died after a struggle with Hawthorne police officers, sheriff’s deputies said.

Hawthorne police went to the girlfriend’s apartment in the 12700 block of Cranbrook Avenue shortly before midnight Monday to investigate reports of a domestic dispute, sheriff’s Deputy John Ashley said.

When authorities arrived, they saw James Clifford Wheeler, 30, of Inglewood sitting on the bedroom floor, attempting to bite one of the couple’s two children, Ashley said. The officers freed the children--a 17-month-old girl and a 3-year-old boy--but when they attempted to arrest Wheeler, he resisted and suddenly stopped breathing, Ashley said.

Wheeler was taken to Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 12:10 a.m. Tuesday. An autopsy will be performed by the end of the week.

Wheeler’s longtime girlfriend, whose name was not released, told officers that Wheeler had hit her and that she believed he was under the influence of drugs.