North Dakota deputy likely died of heart attack

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Authorities say preliminary autopsy results indicate that a Burleigh County sheriff's deputy who collapsed and died while making an arrest suffered a heart attack.

Thirty-nine-year-old Bryan Sleeper died early Wednesday, shortly after handcuffing a man who authorities say had been resisting arrest.

Sleeper had been with the county sheriff's department for about 3 ½ years. In 2007, he was among several officers in the department who were given the North Dakota Peace Officer's Association's life-saving award for saving a man's life during a suicide attempt.

The Bismarck Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/pw0Eqq ) Sleeper's funeral is scheduled for Tuesday.

Gov. Jack Dalrymple on Thursday issued a statement offering his condolences to Sleeper's family, friends and colleagues.

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