Porn actor and alum Sledge Hammer died Friday, five days after police took him to a hospital for attempting suicide and eventually subdued him after an ambulance scuffle.
Hammer, whose real name was Marland Anderson, died at a Northridge hospital Friday morning, the L.A. Times reports.
Anderson had cut himself with a knife, according to the Times.
Friends and coworkers came to Anderson's defense on blogs and Twitter since the news of his death.
Police mishandled the situation, according to a woman calling herself Alexa and claiming to be his girlfriend who was with him when police arrived.
"According to the doctors/nurses I spoke to, he got scared and started to panic, and the LAPD responded by tazing him six times," she said in a blog post. "Apparently it took them two hours to get to a hospital that was 10 minutes away."
The Times said Anderson became anxious in the ambulance ride, where he was handcuffed to a gurney. The muscular Anderson attempted to stand, and in the process busted the gurney from its floor lock and snapped the handcuffs.
Anderson got his start in pornography shortly after graduating from Mission Viejo High and finding work at a Pizza Hut, close friend Stoney Curtis told porn industry web blog XBiz.
He went on to make over 800 adult movies since 1995.
Many porn performers expressed their condolences over Twitter Friday, including Richard Mann, Christian XXX, Sinnamon Love and Cheyne Collins.
Performer Mika Tan said she would miss comic-book shopping with Anderson.
Friend Jack Lawrence had this to say: "I still can't believe that Sledge Hammer is gone, 9 years I have known him, just the nicest guy ever, & so respectful 2 the women in the biz."
According to his Facebook page, Anderson attended Mission Viejo High as well as .
