‘Sad case.’ Aerosol abuse, not police, led to death in back of Kennewick patrol car
Reno Casanova was sitting in a Kennewick Starbuck’s parking lot when he was seen inhaling a chemical found in aerosol cans.
The 25-year-old man was still inside the minivan when police arrived. Fifteen minutes later, officers were giving him CPR in a futile attempt to save his life.
He died at the scene from a combination of heart damage and the deadly chemical.
“This was a sad case,” Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller concluded Monday in response to a Regional Special Investigations Unit report.
“Interviews with family members show that Mr. Casanova was a good man, much loved by his family. However, addiction issues resulted in his use of a dangerous drug which led to his death.”
Officers Keith Noble, Berry Duty and Tony Valdez “exercised skill and professionalism” and “took immediate steps to provide medical care” as soon as Casanova started having problems, Miller said.
Kennewick police requested the Regional Special Investigations Unit examine Casanova’s Dec. 15 death while he was being held in the back of a police car.
The SIU unit covers Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties and brings in officers from other department to determine whether any laws were broken when a person dies in police custody.
The investigation into Casanova’s death was led by Richland police Capt. Brigit Clary, who turned over the final report for Miller to review.
Casanova’s family said he moved to the Tri-Cities from Illinois and was trying to find his footing.
Two hours in the parking lot
Video surveillance, radio dispatches and witness statements paint a consistent picture of what happened on Dec. 15, Miller said.
Casanova arrived in a white minivan in the Starbuck’s drive-thru shortly after 11:30 a.m. Then he parked within sight of both the coffee shop and the Kadlec Urgent Care clinic.
About two hours later, a passerby spotted him huffing from a can of air and rolling around in the van. Police arrived at the scene at 1:40 p.m. and saw the same thing.
The officers arrested him and sat him in the back of a patrol car. Duty asked for his name and address, and there was “some confusion during that conversation.”
Since it appeared Casanova was under the influence of drugs, medics were called to evaluate him before he could be taken to jail.
As the officer was advising Casanova of his rights, Casanova began struggling to breath and his head rolled back.
The officers called for the ambulance to hurry, removed him from the police car and started CPR. Kennewick medics took over when they arrived but he died.
Dispatch records show they arrived at the scene at 1:40 p.m., called for medics at 1:51 p.m. and asked them to hurry at 1:54 p.m.
Surveillance video showed Casanova was in the patrol car for about 10 minutes before officers started CPR.
Inside the minivan, investigators found 13 cans of compressed air.
A blood test found he died from acute difluoroethane intoxication, with hypertensive cardiovascular disease contributing to his death.
The chemical is found in some consumer products and electronics cleaners, and can give people a feeling of euphoria, light-headedness and disorientation. In high concentrations it can lead to heart problems and sudden death, said Miller’s statement.
Trying to find his footing
Family members described Casanova as a good man who had suffered through several personal tragedies while growing up.
His grandmother suffered a stroke while he was alone at home with her. Then his father died on his 16th birthday, and he lost his best friend six months later, said his mother Angie Shreve. Another close friend died when he was 19.
He moved to the Tri-Cities from Illinois in 2018 and worked at a variety of jobs. He had started developing an interest in videography.
He also loved riding 4-wheelers and dirt bikes and target shooting, Shreve said.
“He was my beautiful, big-hearted, sweet-souled baby, and I don’t know how to be in a world without him,” Shreve said.