A man hanged himself while in police custody in Yeadon, borough officials said

The Delaware County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the apparent suicide of a man Tuesday while he was in police custody.

A 22-year-old man — whose name was not released because his family had not yet been notified of his death — was found hanging in a holding cell at the Yeadon Police Department about 1 p.m., according to Mayor Rohan Hepkins.

An officer who found the man cut him down and attempted to resuscitate him, but medics pronounced him dead at the scene a short time later, according to Hepkins.

The man had been arrested about an hour earlier on a bench warrant in a simple assault case. Officers in the borough had been called to the man’s home Tuesday morning for reports of a domestic dispute, and while there, learned of the active warrant.

A spokesperson for District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said county detectives would conduct an investigation of the incident, but had no additional information.

Yeadon, a small borough of about 11,500 residents bordering Southwest Philadelphia, is experiencing a staffing shortage with its police force: The department is down five full-time and 11 part-time officers, according to Hepkins, who said there is also a moratorium on hiring new officers.

Borough Council President Sharon Council-Harris disputed that contention Tuesday evening, saying the department was fully staffed and there was no moratorium in place.

The town made national headlines earlier this year when the Yeadon Borough Council voted to oust its former police chief, Anthony Paparo, who said his firing was motivated by his race. Paparo is white, while the majority of the town’s residents are Black.

Council-Harris denied that race played any role in Paparo’s firing. She said the chief’s removal stemmed from a grievance filed against the department by the Fraternal Order of Police after he hired more part-time police officers than the union contract allowed.

Paparo has a pending civil rights case in federal court over his firing.

This story contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know is thinking of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text TALK to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.