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Man who died in Olympia police custody identified

Investigators are trying to figure out how a man died while he was being arrested by Olympia police outside the Olympia Intercity Transit offices Monday night.

The man was identified Wednesday as 44-year-old Jeffrey McGaugh of Olympia.

Paramedics performed CPR on McGaugh only seconds after officers noticed his that his complexion was changing and his breathing stopped, but they could not revive him.

Minutes before that, police say McGaugh attacked transit workers, viciously bit a security guard, and fought with officers trying to restrain him.

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Olympia police say McGaugh entered a locked transit administrative office and punched several workers before biting a security guard so severely, the guard had to be treated at a hospital.

When police arrived, they say he went from being calm to combative, trying to bite, kick, and spit at officers. They say he was then calm again.

"The guy was lying on the ground, handcuffed, he was fine," said witness Alan Crenshaw. "Within 20 minutes after the police arrived and got everything under control, he looked fine to me. I didn't see anything odd," Crenshaw said.

"It was a surprise for everyone."

Olympia police spokesperson Laura Wohl said officers reacted to McGaugh's hands looking exceptionally pale.

"When the sergeant first noticed that the man's hands were pale and grew concerned, he un-cuffed the man and re-cuffed him to a looser fashion to make sure it wasn't the cuffs that were making his hands pale," said Wohl.

The Olympia Police Department released the identity of five officers involved.

Sgt. Dan Duncan is a 26 year veteran, Officer Rob Beckell has 23 years of experience, Officer Jonathan Leavitt has two years of experience, Officer Javier Sola Del Vigo has three years of experience and Officer Ryan Donald has been an officer for four years.

Donald was the subject of controversy last May when he shot two men during a confrontation in Olympia. The two half-brothers were shoplifting suspects and had no weapons, although Donald said they both threatened him with skateboards.

The Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office exonerated Donald later, saying he did not violate state law or department policy.