County Official Dies in Custody of Tustin Police After Collapse

An Orange County administrative official died at a Santa Ana hospital in the custody of Tustin Police early Friday morning after he had collapsed at a psychiatric center where officers had taken him, police said.

Robert Andrew Petry, 36, of Tustin, who worked in the department of risk management as the county’s safety officer, died at 1:15 a.m. at Western Medical Center, two hours after police had responded to assist with a reportedly “distraught” person, said police spokeswoman Terrie Richardson.

While police were at the scene, Petry “became violent and had to be restrained,” she said.

He was taken to Santa Ana Psychiatric Center, but collapsed and stopped breathing upon his arrival. Paramedics took Petry to Western Medical Center’s trauma center, Richardson said.

Autopsy Performed

Police refused to say whether physical force had been used in restraining Petry. An autopsy was conducted Friday morning, but Tustin Police would not release any further information.

Petry’s friends and colleagues on Friday said the incident does not jibe with the man they knew. They described Petry as a calm and pleasant county employee who was dedicated to his work and who had recently been elected to a position in a statewide professional organization. But they also said that Petry had suffered from an undisclosed physical ailment for months, had lost about 30 pounds and was hospitalized during the holidays.

“He was a calm person with a good sense of humor, very pleasant to work around,” said Petry’s boss, Maria Bastanchury, manager of the risk management department.

“He would be in first thing in the morning and would be one of the last ones out in the evening,” she said.

As the county’s safety officer, Petry was responsible for inspect ing county work sites and property to determine whether they complied with regulations. He also worked with the county’s insurance brokers and underwriters and was in charge of safety training, Bastanchury said.

He had been out sick from work often during the past several months, requiring hospitalization over the holidays, she said. She and others did not know what ailment Petry suffered from, but Bastanchury said he had indicated that doctors had had difficulty diagnosing his illness.

“He was a great guy,” said Kathy Borza, 18, a neighbor for eight years. “He was good to my little brother and gave him a lot of advice.”

Petry got sick “all of a sudden, about six months ago . . . really sick. He looked sick and gray all the time,” Borza said.

Petry had attended a Borza family wedding a week ago and “he was OK and had a lot of fun,” she said.

Neighbors said they heard no disturbance Thursday night. Royce L. Jensen, who lives across the street, said he saw police cars but saw or heard no commotion.

Jim Schultz, 14, said Petry was friendly with the neighborhood youngsters.

“Whenever my friends and I would be out playing football, he would come out an say: ‘I’ll give you a dollar if you can hit the telephone pole.’ He was a nice guy and was always giving us money for things like that,” he said.

Recently Elected to Post

Petry had recently been elected secretary-treasurer of the County Safety Officers Organization of California, and most likely would have progressed to the president’s post, said Fresno County Safety Officer Mel Brooks, who now is president of the association.

“He was a mature individual, very interested in doing a good job (in his post) and he was proceeding to do that,” Brooks said. Petry had organized a professional conference in Laguna Beach last year and “everyone thought he did a fantastic job,” he said.

Petry had been nominated for the office by a committee, and at the members’ election meeting “everyone felt so comfortable with him that no one nominated anyone else from the floor,” Brook said. Petry was unanimously elected, he said.

‘Was Feeling Great’

Wally ZeMans, safety officer for the Los Angeles County probation department, said he had lunch with Petry on Thursday after they met in El Segundo to sign contracts reserving hotel space for a planned professional conference.

“He said he was feeling great and that he was starving,” ZeMans said. Petry told him he had been up early to “do training for an Orange County road crew” and ordered “a great deal of what was on the menu,” he said.

“He indicated he had lost about 30 pounds, but he was telling me how well he was feeling,” ZeMans said. “He was in good spirits and cheerful. Nothing appeared wrong.”