Gonzalez was still resisting with his entire body, including his legs, even after being handcuffed, according to the report. Sherwin said she believes Gonzalez died of asphyxiation and said the amount of methamphetamine in his system was low. We are struggling with these daily routines while carrying the burden of grief.. Alameda Officer Eric McKinley spoke to Gonzalez for nine minutes before he and two other officers tried to arrest him, with help from a civilian parking employee. In this case, one officer recognized the danger, asking shortly before Gonzalez stopped breathing if they should roll him on his side. April 29, 2021 / 8:35 AM It was not clear Friday if that had taken place. To Alison Berry Wilkinson, the lawyer representing the three officers and civilian parking employee, the report seemed to confirm that her clients were justified in detaining and arresting Gonzalez. with our own eyes, Julia Sherwin, an attorney for the Gonzalez family, said in a statement to the Chronicle. 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. He said he will soon file a federal lawsuit against the city and the officers involved. His family said officers unnecessarily escalated what should have been a minor, peaceful encounter with the unarmed man. 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. ", The union representing police officers did not respond to a request for comment. Meth didnt kill Mario, the officers did. He got depressed. It's unclear why it took until Friday to release the report, which was obtained through a public records request from the coroner's office. I know they are already suffering the severe trauma of losing a loved one, Joshi said. He stopped breathing in a park at the end of a cul-de-sac of well-kept homes with manicured gardens. WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO:Alameda officers kneel on man before his death, Several experts have said that officers have long been trained not to handcuff people facedown on the ground as it can lead to "restraint asphyxia.". Once the officers had lawfully attempted to detain Mr. Gonzalez, he physically resisted their efforts the entire time until he ultimately became unresponsive, the district attorneys report says. Wife of popular Wild 94.9 radio host JV says new information suggests he will not be coming back, Bay Area federal judge orders extradition of woman suspected of killing MSU student in hit-and-run, San Jose: Home raided as part of explosives and narcotics investigation, Dear Abby: My wife said she doesn't like it, but it's part of my life. Officers Eric McKinley, James Fisher, and Cameron Leahy controlled Gonzalezs arms, back, and legs as his arms were cuffed behind his back, the report says. And like so many others, he hadn't been able to find work since then. After graduating from Coliseum College Preparatory in Oakland, Gonzalez had plannedto go toAlameda College. He worried if he or his mother died who would take care of his brother Efrain, 23, who suffers from severe autism and is nonverbal. Officers confronted Gonzalez whose legal name, in the report, is Mario Gonzalez Arenales at a small park on the morning of April 19, after receiving two calls, the first from a nearby resident who said a man was muttering to himself outside the front gate of his house. Alameda Police officers James Fisher, Cameron Leahy and Eric McKinley the officers who struggled with Gonzalez before his death remain on paid administrative leave. Gonzalez's life began to unravel during the pandemic. Edith Arenales of Oakland holds a picture of her son, Mario Gonzalez, who was killed by Alameda police on April 19, 2021. 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. Local residents called 911 on Gonzalez after he seemed dazed and intoxicated, but not threatening or violent, in a public park. "Mario was a noble and decent man who didn't deserve to have his life ended in this way.". S.F. It is shameful that District Attorney Nancy OMalley did not have the courage to bring criminal charges for this homicide. Crime and Public Safety | According to the toxicology report released, Gonzalez had .9 milligrams of meth per liter in his system. "The medical emergency that they're talking about was induced by three officers on his back. Related Articles A spokesperson for the sheriff, Lt. Ray Kelly, said the office stands by the corners report. In an autopsy report released Friday, chief forensic pathologist Vivian Snyder categorized Gonzalezs death as a homicide, while citing other factors, including methamphetamine abuse, alcoholism and morbid obesity. , family members and other loved ones gathered with candles for a vigil at the Alameda park where Mario died at age 26. from officials in months, according to the familys attorn. Body camera footage shows the police restraining Gonzalez for five minutes, at which point he went limp. The death of Mario Gonzalez Arenales, a 26-year-old man whose fatal encounter with Alameda police in April became a flash point in a national debate, resulted from the toxic effects of methamphetamine, combined with the physiological stress of restraint by officers and other underlying conditions, according to the Alameda County coroner. His first newspaper job was as a Washington Post paperboy. Email Evan atevan.sernoffsky@fox.comand follow him on Twitter @EvanSernoffsky. 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. We are still figuring out how to fill the hole left in our family when they took Mario from us, said his mother, Edith Arenales, in a statement from the familys lawyers. The family of an unarmed 26-year-old San Francisco Bay Area man is struggling to understand how a minor confrontation with police led to his death on the same day a jury in Minneapolis began considering similar circumstances in the George Floyd case. The death is under investigation by the Alameda County Sheriff's Department, the district attorney's office and a former San Francisco city attorney hired by Alameda to lead an independent probe. Alameda police approached Gonzalez in a small park in the 800 block of Oak Street near Park Street and Otis Drive after residents called 911, describing a man talking strangely and smashing a bottle on a tree stump. The independent autopsy, which was requested by the familys 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.. , but the video shows Gonzalez stopped breathing on site and one officer declaring no pulse as officers began CPR. The Alameda County Sheriffs Office has not completed the autopsy but has already asked pathologists from outside areas to do a peer review of its autopsy once completed. They are still waiting on the autopsy to be released by the coroners office. Police Chief Nishant Joshi extended condolences to Gonzalezs family in a statement. Interim Police Chief Randy Fenn told KTVU-TV said the video was "troubling" and offered his condolences to Gonzalez's family. In April, police called the incident a scuffle followed by a. 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. 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. The independent autopsy confirms what we all saw with our own eyes. There were also reports that someone stole liquor bottles from a nearby store. Nearly eight months after 26-year-old Mario Gonzalez died at the hands of police in Alameda, California, the county coroners office released a report ruling the Latino fathers death a homicide. Our family needs answers: Relatives call for swift transparency in mans death during arrest by Alameda police ALAMEDA The death of an Oakland man who went unconscious while police held him to the ground was determined to be a homicide as a result of the altercation with officers, as well as methamphetamine use,and obesity, according to an autopsy made public this week. The autopsy also noted that Gonzalez had more than 20 cuts and bruises. Rachel Swan is a breaking news and enterprise reporter. Dear Abby: Why do they imply my husband is a freak? At a vigil last week on the first anniversary of Gonzalezs death, his younger brother, Jerry, spoke to a crowd of dozens of mourners in the park where he was killed. The report went through "multiple levels of scrutiny and peer-review including a committee and we absolutely stand by that work," Alameda County Sheriff public information officer Lt. Ray Kelly says of the coroner's report. But it won't last long. The two autopsy reports do agree that the manner of Gonzalezs death was homicide, or death at the hands of another person, a legal classification that does not necessarily lead to a murder or manslaughter charge. The stress of the altercation and restraint combined with prone positioning in the setting of morbid obesity and recent methamphetamine (use) placed further strain on Mr. Gonzalezs heart, the report says. He adored our son and was a good father. The Alameda County Sheriffs office has asked outside agencies to assist in reviewing the autopsy of Mario Gonzalez, who died in the custody of Alameda police officers. The officers approach to Mr Gonzalez detention and arrest and their use of force appeared reasonable under the circumstances, the report says. Photos: Youth-led march honors Oakland man who died in Alameda police custody The family has not gotten any updates from officials in months, according to the familys attorney. They killed him by restraining him in a prone position, with three officers weight on him, for over five minutes, attorney Julia Sherwin said in part. Gonzalez family: Police body-worn camera footage shows what we alreadyknew He was anxious and was prescribed medications to help. April 19, 2021. 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. The Alameda County Sheriffs office has asked outside agencies to assist in reviewing the autopsy of Mario Gonzalez, who died in the custody of Alameda police officers. Photo: Lisa Fernandez. Gonzalez is heard in the video telling officers, I didnt do nothing, OK?, Shortly before Gonzalez stops breathing, one officer asks the other, Think we can roll him on his side?, but the other answers, I dont want to lose what I got, man., Another officer then asks, We got no weight on his chest?, then repeats, No! Alameda police have made public body cam footage showing officers pinning a man to the ground for more than five minutes during an arrest last week that ended in his death. "Mario would not have died were it not for being restrained in a prone position, with multiple officers on his back, for over five minutes," Sherwin tells NPR. An altercation occurred, an officer was seen pinning a man for at least four minutes, and soon Mario Gonzalez was dead. In statements Wednesday, a Gonzalez lawyer and family member further decried police actions that led to his death. With police on top of him, Gonzalez can be heard groaning under the officers weight while continuing to respond to questions. Sherwin is preparing a federal civil rights lawsuit.