FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – An Opa-locka man who was arrested on charges of burglary, battery and false imprisonment charges has died at a hospital, a Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman said.
Markus Clark, 26, died Thursday morning after deputies took him to Florida Medical Center.
BSO spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said deputies were called to a robbery at an Exxon gas station on Northwest 27th Avenue shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday. When they arrived, deputies found Clark struggling with one of the clerks.
"He's pushing me. Send somebody please," the clerk is heard saying in a 911 call.
Sudeb Saha was working when Clark came inside and began stumbling around in the enclosed register area. Saha said Clark appeared to be high or drunk.
Saha said employees gave Clark a soda to drink, called 911 and waited for deputies.
"He's throwing soda in my face now," the employee told the dispatcher shortly before deputies arrived.
LISTEN: Full 911 call
Clark was inside the enclosed register area and blocking the door, preventing two employees from exiting and deputies from entering, Coleman-Wright said.
A BSO sergeant had to climb through an opening in the enclosure to get inside. It took several deputies to subdue Clark and handcuff him, Coleman-Wright said.
Local 10 News investigative reporter Ross Palombo asked Saha if deputies hurt Clark.
"No," Saha said.
Family members had a different reaction after Palombo showed them the surveillance video from the gas station.
"I think they totally took advantage of him," aunt Joan Clark told Palombo. "I think they killed him."
Family members acknowledge that Markus Clark had a problem with drugs and was high on "flakka."
"He wasn't fighting," Joan Clark said. "If he fought, it was to try to get away from them and keep them from hurting him."
The Broward County medical examiner's office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.
Coleman-Wright said Clark's temperature at the hospital was 106.3 degrees Fahrenheit before he died.
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