The father of the man who died in police custody early Sunday—after a chase that led him to complain to officers he was having trouble breathing—says he is contemplating legal action against the city and wants more information about how his son was treated by officers in the hours before his death.

Eugene Bolden, father of 26-year-old Darris Johnson, joins others who have said it's worth looking into whether officers should have called paramedics for Johnson sooner than they did. An autopsy Monday found Johnson had an enlarged heart, a potentially fatal condition that isn't always apparent until it kills, and no sign of trauma on his body.

"They said they did everything to help my son. No. They did everything to put him where he is now," said Bolden, adding that if his son had a heart problem, he probably didn't realize it. "He never went to the hospital for any kind of heart condition."

Johnson was a backseat passenger in a 1988 Cadillac police said they stopped because it had a busted tail-light. Officers say they asked Johnson for his ID because, they contend they noticed he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Johnson apparently gave them wrong information and fled the car before officers could cite him, jumping over three fences before hiding behind a nearby house. During the chase, police learned he had an outstanding felony warrant.

Police say Johnson surrendered and was handcuffed without incident, and even though he complained he couldn't breath after the chase, was walking and talking without any issue. Instead of calling paramedics, they drove him to be booked, and that's when his condition worsened—prompting officers Justin Thurman and Zach Zelinka to stop their car, call for rescuers, take off Johnson's handcuffs and give him CPR personally.

From there, Johnson was taken to Adventist Medical Center, a half-mile away, where he died just before 8 in the morning. Bolden said his son might have made it if medical personnel were called sooner. He also complained he wasn't notified of his son's death until six hours later.

"It didn't have to be like that. The police failed. They failed," he said. "My son shouldn't have died. My son should be here."

Court records show Johnson had a history of legal troubles, including a cocaine possession charge in 2009 that led to a prison sentence, and a 2007 restraining order filed by the mother of one of his children. Police—who say investigators are paying particular attention to any drug use by Johnson in the day before his death—also reported that preliminary tests taken after Johnson's death showed he had meth and pot in his system.

Bolden said he knew his son smoked pot but was stunned to hear talk he had been dabbling with meth.

"I don't believe I've ever witnessed or heard about him or even knew about him even having that stuff," he said.

The two were close, Bolden said, seeing each other every other day and speaking on the phone in between. In fact, the two spoke the afternoon before Johnson's death. Johnson has two sons and two daughters, with another child due any day.

"That really hurts me," he said. "It wasn't like he was hiding from the law. He was always with his kids. He'd always bring my grandkids in to see me."

Police officials have said all along that Zelinka and Thurman appear to have followed policy, at least based on an initial review of the case. They argue it's common for people to complain of shortness of breath after a police chase, and that once Johnson seemed more stricken, they did the right thing by calling for medics and giving him CPR on their own.

"Any time a person dies, it's a tragic incident. And we understand the family is grieving and we're very sorry for the loss," police spokesman Lieutenant Robert King said. "We provided preliminary information and will provide more information as it becomes available. We don't have any more information to share at this time, but I know we will shortly. And we understand how difficult this is for Mr. Johnson's family."