El Dorado County man in medical distress dies after resisting deputies

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A California man died following a struggle with sheriff's deputies who were called because he refused to be taken to a hospital, authorities said.

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office says 49-year-old Odie Prettyman died at Marshall Medical Center Saturday, The Sacramento Bee reports.

Deputies were called around 9 p.m. to a home in Placerville, about 44 miles east of Sacramento, by El Dorado County Fire District medical personnel attempting to assist Prettyman.

Prettyman was a combative patient'' who was in obvious medical and mental distress, the sheriff's office said.

Deputies told Prettyman he needed to go to a hospital before he slashed at them with a metal pen and the deputies grabbed his hand and disarmed him.

Prettyman then began to show signs of medical distress'' and deputies performed CPR. Prettyman was then transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the sheriff's office said.

The cause of his death is under investigation by the sheriff's coroner unit.

A multi-agency team including the sheriff's office, El Dorado County District Attorney's Office, California Highway Patrol, Placerville Police Department and South Lake Tahoe Police Department are expected to investigate.