Melbourne man, 35, dies in hospital after physical altercation with police during arrest in Hoppers Crossing
A Melbourne man who was placed in a coma after becoming unresponsive during a police arrest has died in hospital.
Tradie Luke Briggs, 35, was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition on July 15 after he was involved in a physical altercation with police in the carpark of a 7-Eleven in Hoppers Crossing.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Melbourne man dies in hospital eight days after becoming unresponsive during police arrest
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Police say Briggs became aggressive while being questioned over a minor traffic matter.
He began wrestling with police and was arrested, at some point becoming unresponsive.
Police performed CPR on Briggs before he was taken to hospital.
Briggs remained in ICU in a coma until his death on Tuesday night, police confirmed on Wednesday afternoon.
His family said they spent their final hours with Briggs playing his favourite songs and sharing stories.
“(Luke was) wearing his favourite Bunnings jumper, beer by his side, surrounded by his whole family,” the family said in a statement.
“We couldn’t be more heartbroken with the tragic events that we’ve endured over the past nine days and we hope the ongoing investigation provides the answers we’re looking for.
“We will miss you, Luke. We don’t know how we can go on without you.”
The homicide squad is investigating Luke’s death with oversight from the Professional Standards Command.
Police said the oversight was “standard practice when a person is seriously injured or dies while in custody”.
Two male police officers involved in the arrest were interviewed on Friday and suspended with pay on Monday.
The entire interaction was captured on body cameras and CCTV, according to the Briggs family lawyer Jeremy King.
While police maintain Luke was aggressive, King said the family were told a different story.
“They were told while he wasn’t perhaps compliant, that he wasn’t aggressive,” he said.
“There are real questions to be answered in terms of this arrest, and how somebody ended up with those severe bruises on their body and in (the) ICU on life support.”
