Gonzalez seemed intoxicated and disoriented and they were concerned he would fall, she said. The civil litigation filed by Gonzalezs family is ongoing and the the Citys legal team is committed to defending the City in the pending litigation, Sarah Henry, public information officer for the City of Alameda told CNN in a statement. Gonzalez was still resisting with his entire body, including his legs, even after being handcuffed, according to the report. In their initial public statements, Alameda police described Gonzalezs death as a medical emergency. Grieving family members invoked George Floyd, the Minneapolis man whose murder by a former police officer set off a national reckoning over police violence against people of color. The Alameda County district attorney will not file criminal charges against three police officers who restrained a Northern California man who died in their custody last year. The county coroners office had classified the death of Mario Gonzalez Arenales as a homicide and pointed to the toxic effects of methamphetamine as the leading cause. "He's hyperventilating, he's obese, apparently he's been drinking Officers need to recognize those factors and take them into consideration.". The decision to detain and arrest Gonzalez was supported by reasonable suspicion and probable cause, but it was also supported by officer safety reasons, District Attorney Nancy OMalleys report says. Gonzalezs family filed a legal claim against the city of Alameda last June, and their attorney told the news station KTVU they plan to file a federal lawsuit soon. Harriette Cole: I don't want the neighbor's kids at my house, Ask Amy: I'm your cabin housekeeper, and you apparently have no idea what I do, Pac-12 media rights: Our (final) predictions for the revenue, media partners, expansion decisions and more. After Oakland man dies in custody, Alameda looks at possible changes in policing Officers in Alameda, California, arrived April 19 to check out neighbors' reports that Mario Gonzalez was acting strangely in a park and appeared to be breaking the security tags off of alcohol bottles he had in two drugstore baskets. S.F. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan. Alison Berry Wilkinson, the attorney for the officers, called the situation "very sad" but said the autopsy clearly shows Gonzalez "died from drug toxicity. Based on the totality of available information, including investigative, autopsy, and laboratory findings, it is apparent that Mr. Gonzalez Arenales experienced cardiopulmonary arrest because of multiple factors, the report said. During the interaction with law enforcement agents, he was face-down on the ground (prone) with his hands handcuffed behind his back, and at times the officers were applying pressure to his torso and legs with at least some of the weight of their bodies. The officers roll Gonzalez over and perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but he was later pronounced dead at a hospital. The three officers remain on paid administrative leave, according to the city of Alameda. No officers were charged. Tom Cruise's 'ditching' of Suri showcased by Judd Apatow's 'co-parenting' joke, ex-Scientology exec says, Ask Amy: I feel guilty for not speaking up about my co-worker's activities, Ask Amy: I had a good reason not to tell my friend I was moving, Warriors 3 Things: Steve Kerr entered playoff mode before Golden State's win over Portland. Dear Abby: Why do they imply my husband is a freak? Mario Gonzalezs death ruled a homicide,, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Alameda County DAs new policy will reduce prison sentences through widespread elimination of sentencing enhancements, Mario Gonzalezs death ruled a homicide, coroner blames Alameda police who restrained him, meth use, Tehama County Sheriffs Office resuming daytime patrols Sunday, L.A. wants to evict families living in luxury hotel since botched 2021 fireworks detonation, Former Pleasanton cop found not guilty of murder in DUI crash, Colorado cop shot and killed unarmed man at point-blank range after struggle outside middle school, video shows, Feds drop felony gun case days after defense argued SFPD illegally arrested, searched defendant. Separately, the Police Department is conducting an internal affairs probe into the altercation, and the district attorney is reviewing the case to determine whether to file criminal charges. This, in our view, is an unintended, unexpected death from the use of proper training and accepted techniques in the law enforcement industry.. "Once they're controlling him, as we learned from the Floyd trial with all those medical experts, this position or compression is deadly," said Geoffrey Alpert, a professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina and an expert on police use of force. Lila Seidman is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times yearlong initiative exploring various facets of mental health. Were going to take care of you, OK, were going to take care of you, one officer tells him. OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Alameda County Sheriff-Coroners Office finally released the Coroners and autopsy report concerning The new autopsy results, released Wednesday, said that Gonzalez died on April 19, 2021, from restraint asphyxiation, according to forensic pathologist Bennet Omalu. The case has drawn national attention, with comparisons to the death of George Floyd, particularly for the scant information police initially released in saying Gonzalez died of a medical issue during a scuffle with officers. Nearly four minutes after he was cuffed, Gonzalez became unresponsive, the report says. By. ", Similarly, after the death of Floyd last year, the Minneapolis Police Department issued a news release saying that he had suffered "medical distress. The autopsy released eight months after the incident found that Mario Gonzalez died due to a heart attack during an April 19 struggle with police. Experts have expressed shock at his death, questioning why the officers pinned him when he appeared to pose no imminent threat. former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in George Floyds death. His family said he was also the main caregiver for his autistic brother, Efrain. He also had multiple rib fractures and a liver laceration, consistent with injuries people sometimes suffer when doctors attempt to resuscitate them through CPR. It is a sad day when political expediency and obvious conflicts of interest seemingly outweigh the principles of equal justice under the law as it has in the death (of) Mario and far too many other men, women and children killed by police, Pointer said. It is unclear if the city will lift the hold on the release of more information now that the autopsy has been released. Dear Abby: Why do they imply my husband is a freak? Local residents called 911 on Gonzalez after he seemed dazed and intoxicated, but not threatening or violent, in a public park. Gonzalezs death is under investigation by the Alameda County Sheriffs Office and the county district attorneys office. Crime and Public Safety | Alameda police Officer Erick McKinley was among several officers who responded on April 19, 2021 in the citys Scout Park after a resident called police to claim Gonzalezs presence was scaring his wife. However, the independent autopsy, performed April 27, 2021 by renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, says the primary cause of death was restraint asphyxiation. Therefore the cause of death is the toxic effects of methamphetamine, with the physiologic stress of altercation and restraint, morbid obesity, and alcoholism contributing to the process of dying.. Attorney Julia Sherwin, on behalf of Gonzalezs 5-year-old son, filed a suit in December 2021 and Gonzalezs mother, Edith Arenales, also filed suit in February 2022. The state DOJ told HuffPost that it is their understanding that the case is being handled at the local level.. At least two officers knelt on him until he stopped breathing and lost his pulse. The new information being released adds to that pain.. He was anxious and was prescribed medications to help. That's a huge boost for the Dubs, Denver gang member gave 14-year-old permission to open fire on woman with AR-15 after fender-bender, DA alleges, In 4 years, Lori Lightfoot went from breakout political star to divisive mayor of a Chicago beset by pandemic and crime, Florida lawmakers to consider expansion of so-called dont say gay law, Drone crashes at Disneyland after hovering over visitors heads See video, Rapper Travis Scott wanted for assaulting Manhattan club sound engineer, destroying $12K in equipment, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. On Tuesday, the six-month anniversary of Gonzalezs death by police, family members and other loved ones gathered with candles for a vigil at the Alameda park where Mario died at age 26. He said the lack of accountability for the police officers was bullcrap., We know that what happened wasnt right, Jerry said. Rachel Swan is a breaking news and enterprise reporter. The autopsy released eight months after the incident found that Mario Gonzalez died due to a heart attack during an April 19 struggle with police. I agree with the sheriff-coroner that it is a homicide. Known as @lacrimes on Twitter, during almost 30 years at The Times he also has been part of the breaking news staff that won Pulitzers in 1998, 2004 and 2016. In April, police called the incident a scuffle followed by a medical emergency. But body camera footage released after an outcry from Gonzalezs family showed officers approaching Gonzalez, alone in a park with some bottles of alcohol, and Gonzalez calmly speaking with officers for nearly nine minutes. Since joining The Times in 2020, Seidman has served on the breaking news and utility desks, wheres she written about Indigenous communities, wildfires threatening giant trees and fishing the L.A. River. Its peer-reviewed. Gonzalez was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. The independent autopsy confirms what we all saw with our own eyes, Julia Sherwin, an attorney for the Gonzalez family, said in a statement to the Chronicle. They are still waiting on the autopsy to be released by the coroners office. Mario is shown on the video calmly speaking with the officers for nearly nine minutes. After learning his name, the officer adds, Mario, just please stop fighting us.. "We often see in these cases of mechanical asphyxia or restraint asphyxia the pathologist attributing the death to methamphetamine," Sherwin says, adding, "It's not uncommon for a forensic pathologist to not have a very strong handle on the toxicology or the epidemiology of mass intoxication.". The district attorney called the officers detention, arrest and use of force in the Gonzalez case objectively reasonable considering the agency policies, the totality of the circumstances, and the officers stated rationale., The coroners autopsy listed Gonzalezs cause of death as a heart attack brought on by the struggle with officers, as well as morbid obesity, methamphetamine use and alcoholism. His family said officers unnecessarily escalated what should have been a minor, peaceful encounter with the unarmed man. But body camera video released shortly afterward, it was clear that Gonzalez was unarmed. Four days after the incident, city officials hired Louise Renne of the Renne Public Law Group in San Francisco to launch an independent investigation. Gonzalez family: Police body-worn camera footage shows what we alreadyknew later that month after an outcry from the family, showed officers approach Mario, alone in a park with bottles of alcohol nearby, after a neighbor called about someone being intoxicated. Gonzalez's death came amid ongoing tensions between police and communities they're sworn to protect, following the police killing of George Floyd less than one year earlier. The police killed my brother, in the same manner they killed George Floyd, his brother Gerardo Gonzalez told reporters Tuesday. He got depressed. s attorneys, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, countered the report from the Alameda County coroners office, last year, which had called the death a homicide but listed the principal cause as toxic effects of methamphetamine., The report included under other significant conditions the physiological stress of altercation and restraint, as well as obesity and alcoholism., On April 19, 2021, police in the Bay Area city, knelt on Marios back for nearly four minutes, until he died. Off work, he enjoys playing in bands, busking and karaoke. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office on Tuesday reopened its investigation into the actions of Alameda police officers involved in the death of Mario Rich L.A. homeowners are snapping them up, High school basketball: Southern California and Northern California Regional results and updated pairings, Opinion: How California came to treat UC Berkeley students noise as a dire environmental threat, Opinion: California gave up on mandating COVID vaccines for schoolchildren. Discovery Company. A man died after being restrained by police in California. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Mario Gonzalezs family is still grieving without answers more than six months after the young Latino father died when police in Alameda, California, kneeled on his back for nearly five minutes. Therefore, the report concludes, the cause of death is the toxic effects of methamphetamine, with the physiologic stress of altercation and restraint, morbid obesity, and alcoholism contributing to the process of dying., Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Gonzalez in the video acts dazed and struggles to answer officers questions. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Did you encounter any technical issues? In the report the district attorneys office cited the National Association of Medical Examiners in saying that homicide is a neutral term and does not in any way affect the District Attorneys Offices determination in the criminal context., The district attorney added in the report that, A homicide can be lawful or unlawful.. April 29, 2021 / 8:35 AM Alameda police pinned down Mario Gonzalez. Those statement did not mention Gonzalez being pinned to the ground. Gonzalez wont produce any identification, so the officers try to force his hands behind his back to handcuff him, but he does not let his arms go limp. Earlier this month, the Alameda County district attorney announced there would be no criminal charges for the officers. He stopped breathing in a park at the end of a cul-de-sac of well-kept homes with manicured gardens. The nearly hourlong video from two officers body cameras shows police talking to Gonzalez in a park after receiving 911 calls that he appeared to be disoriented or drunk. On April 19, 2021, Mario Gonzalez, an unarmed 26-year-old Latino man, died while under police custody by the Alameda, California Police Department. [2] [3] [4] In their initial report of the incident, the department reported that Gonzalez died after a "scuffle" and "physical altercation" resulting in a "medical emergency." That autopsy was commissioned by civil rights law firm Haddad and Sherwin on behalf of Gonzalezs son Mario Gonzalez-Cortez and family members in a civil suit against the city, the officers and the police departments former chief. "They wanted to keep him from tripping, so they killed him instead? Mario Gonzalez Arenales, 26, died last year after an encounter with police officers in Alameda, California. No weight no weight.. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Sarah Ruiz-Grossman. "The medical emergency that they're talking about was induced by three officers on his back. "We need justice because we lost someone who was indispensable to our family," Gonzalez's mother told CBS stationKPIX-TVlast week. A statement issued Friday by Alameda police Chief Nishant Joshi says the officers will remain on leave until the investigation is over. All three remain on paid leave. 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