Man held by police in East Flatbush dies at Kings County Hospital, at least the sixth NYPD custody

Reginald Newkirk, 54, of Brooklyn, was pronounced dead Sunday morning at Kings County Hospital, one day after he fell ill while being held by police in East Flatbush, according to the NYPD.

Officers took Newkirk into custody Friday on a charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance, the department said. Following the arrest, officers brought him to a hospital, where he was medically cleared, according to the NYPD.

At about 2:10 p.m. Saturday, police asked for emergency services for a prisoner they described as “sick.” Newkirk was brought to Kings County Hospital and remained there until his death Sunday, police said. The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division is looking into the death.

Deaths in NYPD custody in 2026

Newkirk is at least the sixth person in 2026 to die following a medical crisis while held by the NYPD.

Earlier this year, three people died after officers arrested and held them, in cases from Brooklyn and Manhattan. Low-level offenses had led to at least two of those arrests. The city’s medical examiner found each death accidental, naming acute drug intoxication as one of the causes.

In August, a homeless veteran, 64, suffered a medical crisis inside a precinct stationhouse in East Harlem. Separately, a 48-year-old man fell ill in a holding cell at Brooklyn Central Booking and died in September, over three weeks after that episode.

Why deaths before arraignment get less public review

Whether Newkirk had been arraigned on the possession charge was not immediately clear. The distinction matters: the Board of Correction publicly reviews deaths at Rikers Island, while deaths in NYPD custody before arraignment get no such review.

Public defenders have criticized the department for holding people on low-level charges for which bail cannot be set while those people wait for a court appearance. Last year, several defender organizations put forward a 10-point proposal. It seeks independent Civilian Complaint Review Board investigations into every death in police custody. The plan also wants medical staff stationed in the courtrooms where arraignments take place, and it urges the department to abandon quality-of-life enforcement altogether.