The death of 59-year-old Dean Fowler inside a Winslow Police Department (WPD) holding cell in August is under review by outside investigators who found that the man was left unmonitored for nearly an hour while the arresting officer worked in another room of the building and briefly left the station altogether.
According to an investigative report compiled by the Show Low Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit, Fowler was arrested after officers were called to Walmart, located at 700 Mike’s Pike at 6:50 p.m. the evening of Aug. 18, Officer Preston Arend located Fowler near the Maverik gas station on North Park Drive. After confirming his identity, Arend detained Fowler, recovered and returned the stolen items, and transported him to the police station.
The report includes a video from the booking area that shows Fowler being placed into the holding cell at 8:46 p.m. Arend then removed Fowler’s property, secured it and began the booking paperwork. Fowler was the only person in the holding cells at that time. The report also says instead of using the computer located inside the booking area, Arend went down the hallway to use another computer inside the corporals’ office. The Show Low investigation notes that the computer in that office does not have a view of the holding cells.
The investigators interviewed the only dispatcher working at the time who told them that they had not noticed Fowler escorted into the cell and had not noticed when he hanged himself. The dispatcher attributes this inattentiveness to the cameras to a busy workload but dispatcher reports show no calls came in from when Fowler entered the cell and when he was found dead.
At approximately 8:50 p.m., shortly after being placed in the cell, Fowler removed the drawstring from his sweatpants, tied it to the vertical bars on the cell door, looped it around his neck and gradually lowered himself until he lost consciousness. Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators shows him motionless within minutes. No further activity was recorded for nearly 50 minutes.
At some point after 9 p.m., Arend left the police department and drove back to Walmart to pick up a cell phone he had forgotten at the store, which he needed for two-factor authentication in order to begin booking paperwork. When he returned, he went directly to the corporals’ office rather than the booking area. It was not until approximately 9:40 p.m. that Arend reentered the holding cell area. Upon entering, he found Fowler unresponsive with the drawstring tied to the door bars.
Arend immediately cut the string using a pair of shears and began CPR while calling for backup and emergency medical assistance. Sergeant Cayden Warneke and other officers responded to assist. Seargeant John Johnson was on duty at the time but told investigators he was at home with his family when he heard Arend radio for help, at which time he headed to the police department.
Dispatchers called Winslow Fire Department paramedics, who arrived within minutes. Officers and firefighters attempted resuscitation, but Fowler was pronounced dead at 10:02 p.m.
Several officers told investigators that an automated external defibrillator (AED) located inside the police department did not power on when they tried to use it. The report notes that the AED was inoperable and investigative reports did not mention when the last time the device had been inspected. Around this time a call was made to alert the Chief Ernie Cano who instructed that all officers involved be separated so that a proper interview with outside investigators could take place.
The Show Low Police report reconstructs the night in detail, noting that no cell checks or welfare observations were conducted between 8:46 p.m., when Fowler was placed in the cell and 9:40 p.m., when officers finally checked on him almost an hour after hanging himself. Dispatch logs did not contain any notations about visual checks or monitoring and dispatchers confirmed they had not been asked to observe Fowler on camera.
The investigative report does not include a conclusion on whether Winslow Police policy required regular checks on detainees during this time. The Tribune has reached out to WPD for clarification on these policies and several other questions which had not received a response at the time of publishing.
While interviewing people close to Fowler, investigators learned that he had previously tried to commit suicide while in police custody in 2019, they interviewed the former dispatcher who was working at the time who said they had noticed Fowler behaving suspiciously on camera and saw him attempt to hang himself with his belt. They immediately radioed officers, who entered the cell and intervened before he could injure himself.
Winslow Police Department later confirmed to Show Low detectives that a report existed from March 29, 2019, documenting that event. The 2019 report stated Fowler had been left unattended for “40 to 60 seconds” before the officer reentered and found him attempting to hang himself. Officers stopped the attempt and Fowler was taken to the hospital.
Investigators noted that attempts to retrieve radio logs from the 2019 incident were unsuccessful because Winslow Police had not maintained their subscription to the system that archived those recordings.
The Show Low Police Department’s report concludes that Fowler’s actions in 2025 were consistent with his prior history of self-harm while in custody. This will not be the last investigative report released on this matter and The Tribune will update as more information becomes available.
