TAOS — The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator has classified the death of a man who was handcuffed by a Taos County sheriff’s deputy in August as a homicide.

According to the autopsy report, Patrick Edward Walsh, 64, died outside an Arroyo Hondo bar from “toxic effects of cocaine and ethanol in the setting of physical restraint.” The report identified “atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease” and “obesity” as other factors contributing to Walsh’s death.

The autopsy specifies that Walsh’s manner of death is “medically” classified as a homicide “because death occurred in the setting of physical restraint.” The classification alone does not implicate the sheriff’s deputy in criminal activity.

“The word ‘homicide’ doesn’t mean a crime was committed or that anythin

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