Officers who pinned California man for 5 minutes settled in his death

Three police officers had a deadly clash with a man in a Northern California park last year comparison with the murder of George Floyd Officials said Thursday that has been clarified in a criminal investigation.

A 40-page report from the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office concluded that the decision to detain and arrest Mario Gonzalez, 26, at Alameda Park on April 19, 2021, was “objectively reasonable.” , the city of Alameda said in a statement.

The statement said officers’ use of force was also justified “considering agency policies, the overall circumstances and stated rationale of officers”.

“Mr. Gonzalez did not die of asphyxiation, nor did he complain to officers that he could not breathe,” the report said.

In their statement, Alameda officials called Gonzalez’s death “tragic” and said the three officers will remain on paid administrative leave while an independent investigation into the city continues.

In a statement on Thursday, attorneys for the Gonzalez family called the report “disgraceful” and said it was rare for police “killing people of color in this country to ever face consequences.” The only people who hold officers responsible for these crimes accountable are often the victim’s family, in federal civil rights cases.”

A family attorney, Julia Sherwin, previously said that what killed Gonzalez “was the Alameda officers pressing him to the ground, placing their own weights on him and pinning him down.”

In December, Gonzalez’s death was treated as a homicide and the local coroner’s office attributed his death to the “toxic effects of methamphetamine”. The stress of the confrontation combined with alcoholism and obesity contributed to his death, the official said.

The encounter began when officers were called to a park following two reports of a man apparently affected and a suspect in a possible burglary. Later, an actual confrontation caught on camera showed one officer placing an elbow on Gonzalez’s neck and another appearing to put a knee on his back.

Gonzalez can be heard gasping, saying, “I’m not doing anything, OK?”

at Blogtuan.info – Source: nbcnews.com – Read the original article here