Assert submitted versus town about Oakland man’s loss of life in police custody

ALAMEDA — The actions by law enforcement officers as they were taking Mario Arenales Gonzalez into custody brought about him to die of asphyxiation, according to a assert his relatives has submitted against the metropolis.

According to the declare, Gonzalez “appeared to be perplexed and perhaps intoxicated,” but he did not pose a risk to himself or everyone else, he was not engaged in any criminal offense, and officers detained him with out affordable suspicion or other legal cause.

Gonzalez died on April 19, the working day prior to a previous Minneapolis police officer, was convicted of murdering George Floyd by pinning his knee on Floyd’s neck for much more than nine minutes.

The Alameda officers put “significant bodyweight on his back, shoulders, neck and legs for more than 5 minutes,” the claim suggests, introducing that Gonzalez “struggled to breathe” prior to he died.

The claim also notes: “After (officers) had handcuffed Mr. Gonzalez, but still stored him prone with great pounds on his back and neck, 1 (officer) explained, ‘Think we can roll him on his facet?’ to which a further officer answered, ‘I don’t want to get rid of what I obtained, man.’ ”

The claim suggests the Oakland resident died from the “use of too much pressure, improper restraint, mechanical asphyxia, and positional, restraint and compression asphyxia.”

Submitted by Oakland regulation agency Haddad & Sherwin on Might 25, the claim does not specify the amount of damages Gonzelez’s family members may possibly be seeking. Submitting a claim is a authorized action that must be taken just before a lawsuit can be filed from a general public entity. The Town Council has not but reviewed the assert

“There are three investigations getting spot relating to the loss of life of Mario Gonzalez, two by outdoors companies (the district attorney and the sheriff) and 1 independent investigation initiated by the metropolis,” Alameda spokeswoman Sarah Henry explained in a assertion. “To guard the integrity of these lively investigations and dependable with our common policy of not commenting on pending litigations/promises, we do not have any additional information to share at this time.”

The Alameda officers have been responding to reviews that Gonzalez, who was in a public park, may perhaps have been involved in a theft simply because a caller explained he was breaking anti-theft units off alcohol bottles and was in possession of two Walgreens handbaskets. The caller also explained he was maybe drunk or beneath the influence of narcotics.

On the other hand, the enterprise did not report a theft.

Police described shortly soon after the experience that Gonzalez died following struggling a health care emergency through a scuffle with officers in the park on Oak Avenue, which is in close proximity to South Shore Heart, a chaotic searching put in the metropolis.