Costa Rican Police Chief Stands by Statement That Malcolm J. Warner Tried to Save Daughter (Exclusive)

A Costa Rican police chief is standing by his statement regarding the moments that led up to Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s death, insisting the late actor’s daughter was in the water at the time of his drowning and that the actor tried to save her.

“I responded to the incident and I know what I saw,” Elberth León, Chief of the Tourist Police of the Atlantic Region, exclusively told Us Weekly. “The Red Cross also treated the girl [on site] and she didn’t need to go to the clinic.”

According to information from the Regional Subdelegation of Bribri of the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ), obtained by Us on Saturday, July 27, the agency is contesting the police chief’s statements.

“It appears that at one point, Mr. Warner was playing with his daughter at the shoreline,” the agency claimed in part. “He later left her out of the water and supposedly entered the sea along with a friend. It was at that moment that the current pulled them in; the friend managed to get out, but unfortunately, Mr. Warner did not.”

According to the OIJ, the late actor was “pulled from the water by several people who were on the beach,” received immediate medical attention from Red Cross personnel but was ultimately declared “dead at the scene.”

The OIJ’s account of the incident was first reported by several outlets on Thursday, July 24.

“I don’t know why the OIJ is saying that, since they weren’t present at the scene,” León told Us of the agency’s conclusion. “They interviewed Malcom’s family, but they also weren’t there at the time of the accident.”

The Costa Rica Red Cross confirmed to Us on July 21 that emergency personnel attended to two adult male patients near Cocles, a beach in Limon, Costa Rica, after they were caught by a high current in the water.

One man was transported in critical condition to the local clinic, while CPR was performed on Warner at the scene. The Cosby Show alum was pronounced dead shortly after. He was 54.

The second individual was later discharged, according to local authorities.

The OIJ confirmed that Warner’s autopsy was completed on July 22. The late actor’s cause of death was ruled as “asphyxia due to submersion.” His death was ruled accidental.

León told Us on Thursday that both Warner and his daughter were in the water when they were “dragged by the current.”

“They were bathing together and were caught by a rip current,” he said. “Obviously, as a father, he fought for his daughter, but the current in that area is very strong, and they couldn’t accomplish the objective.”

He continued, “Two people who were there at the location went in with a surfboard and a boogie board to help rescue the people who were caught in the current. They managed to stay with the girl, managed to get her onto the board, but due to the strength of the current, one of them, from Nicaragua, had to let go of the board and push it toward the shore so the girl could make it to land or the coast.”

Despite the OIJ’s conflicting report, León told Us he doesn’t see any issue with his version of the tragic events because “it’s the truth about what happened.”

“I feel the OIJ failed to interview the Police and the Red Cross, and those are crucial interviews that should be part of any investigation,” he continued. “But sometimes, for all kinds of reasons, they don’t do them.”

OIJ journalist Pablo Alvarado claimed to Us on Saturday that the agency’s officers did include interviews with several eyewitnesses at the scene and that their report reflects “the hypothesis currently being considered regarding how the events may have occurred.”

According to Alvarado, the “report will be submitted to the public Prosecutor’s Office in the coming days.”

“The people who were involved are being interviewed,” he said, adding that the report includes accounts from the police, eye witnesses and members of the Red Cross.