Arrest Reported in Friends Actor’s Death

At least one person has been arrested following the death of Friends star Matthew Perry, according to US media reports.

Perry, 54, was found unconscious at his Los Angeles home last October. An autopsy revealed the cause of death was “the acute effects of ketamine,” a controlled drug the recovering addict was taking as part of supervised therapy.

Los Angeles police opened an investigation in May to determine why Perry had so many drugs in his system.

ABC News and TMZ reported that several people were arrested and facing federal charges. Other outlets, including NBC News, said at least one arrest had been made.

Police said they would hold a news conference with more details later Thursday.

Ketamine is used as a treatment for depression, anxiety and pain. Perry’s relatives told a coroner’s inquest after his death that he was receiving ketamine infusion therapy.

How the actor – who had apparently not had a supervised infusion session for several days – obtained the drug has become the focus of the judicial investigation.

Drowning was also cited as a contributing factor in his death, which was ruled an accident. Other contributing factors were coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder.

At the height of his fame, Perry struggled with addiction to painkillers and alcohol and attended rehabilitation clinics several times.

In 2016, he told BBC Radio 2 that he did not remember the three years of filming Friends, due to drink and drugs.

After attempting treatment, he wrote in his memoir that he had been largely sober since 2001 – “with the exception of 60 or 70 accidents.”