Providence Police Department via AP
- A Rhode Island man who was handcuffed by police officers on Friday was pronounced dead, reports say.
- The 34-year-old man was identified as Joseph Ventre.
- Body camera footage shows the man screaming and rolling on the ground.
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A 34-year-old Rhode Island man died after being handcuffed by police on early Friday morning.
Police said officers responded at around 12:30 a.m. to a report of a man, identified as Joseph Ventre, yelling in the street under the influence, the Associated Press and Providence Journal reported.
When police arrived at the scene, they discovered Ventre screaming and rolling on the ground at a field, according to body camera footage released by the Providence Police Department.
In the footage, an officer tells Ventre to "relax, try to breathe" before another voice says, "Get him off his stomach."
The officers pull Vente's body off of the ground but he doesn't appear to walk. "Anybody want to grab his legs?" an officer says.
When rescue crew from the Providence Fire Department arrived at the scene, the officers Ventre him while he was lying on his stomach for an estimated 90 seconds, according to the Associated Press.
NBC News reported that police said Ventre was cuffed "to prevent injuries and for the safety of rescue personnel."
The officers and rescue crew place Ventre on a stretcher, footage shows. In the video, first responders can be seen lightly shaking Ventre while he lies on his back on the stretcher, seemingly unresponsive.
"He's breathing right?" one officer can be heard saying after Ventre is loaded into the back of an emergency vehicle.
"I don't know," an unidentifiable voice responds. The officers on camera then proceed to wipe presumably dirt from the grass off of their uniforms. The door to the vehicle is closed and officers walk away, the footage shows.
According to NBC News, the paramedics performed CPR on Ventre, who was taken to a local hospital, and then pronounced dead, the report said.
The incident is under investigation by authorities.
The Providence Police Department did not immediately respond to Insider's calls for comment.