An Alameda city spokesperson said Wednesday that the city had no additional comment beyond its statement earlier this month, acknowledging the district attorneys decision and saying it hoped the decision would move the citys independent investigation closer to an end. 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. 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.". The encounter happened a day before former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in George Floyds death and it came against the backdrop of the police killing of Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old boy in Chicago. The city also acknowledged that there are simultaneous investigations into Gonzalez's death by the Alameda County District Attorneys Office, the Alameda County Sheriffs Office and the citys internal investigation remain active and open. 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. AP The officers released Gonzalez several minutes later and found him unresponsive. We are struggling with these daily routines while carrying the burden of grief.. 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. Michael Haddad, an attorney representing Gonzalezs family, said the autopsy confirms what everyone can see with their own eyes in the video, and questioned why it took eight months for the report to be released. Gonzalez can be seen gasping for air and he was pronounced dead after he was taken to the hospital. By. Richard Winton is an investigative crime writer for the Los Angeles Times and part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2011. Mario Gonzalez died after three officers and a civilian employee pinned him face down on the ground for more than five minutes. He adored our son and was a good father. Lisa Fernandez and Evan Sernoffsky are reporters forKTVU. California man who died in custody was restrained on his stomach for 5 minutes and lost consciousness, police body camera shows. Former Pleasanton cop found not guilty of murder in DUI crash And Mario's 5-year-old son, also named Mario, will hold them accountable in civil court in a federal civil rights lawsuit.". , released Wednesday, said that Gonzalez died on April 19, 2021, from restraint asphyxiation, according to forensic pathologist Bennet Omalu. The release of the autopsy report is the latest development in the controversial death, which almost immediately drew protests and comparisons to the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. But he delayed those dreams to helphis mom with the bills and care for his younger brother who suffers from severe autism. Kelly added that the investigation of Gonzalezs death needs this level of action for public trust.. Video Shows Police Kneeled On Mario Gonzalez's Back For 5 .. George Kelly is a breaking news reporter for the Bay Area News Group's East Bay Times and Mercury News. Gonzalez in the video acts dazed and struggles to answer officers questions. They are still waiting on the autopsy to be released by the coroners office. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. After graduating from Coliseum College Preparatory in Oakland, Gonzalez had plannedto go toAlameda College. The cause of Gonzalezs death was the toxic effects of SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The death of Mario Gonzalez in April as he was being restrained by Alameda police employees has been ruled a homicide by the Alameda All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! Alameda Police Department CNN The Alameda County 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. Part of HuffPost Politics. "While we wait for the District Attorneys office to make their decision and with the knowledge of the coroners report, the city will work diligently towards completing its ongoing independent investigation and take appropriate action," Joshi said in his statement. Both suits claim Gonzalez appeared to be confused and possibly intoxicated at the time, but was not a threat to himself or anyone else and that he wasnt involved in any crime. Mario Gonzalez, 26, died after Alameda police officers restrained him on his stomach for five minutes in a case that had echoes of the murder of George Floyd. Experts have expressed shock at his death, The video shows that one officer put an elbow on his neck and a knee on his shoulder, while another appeared to put a knee on his back and leave it there for about four minutes as Gonzalez gasped for air, saying, "I didn't do nothing, OK? CNN The family of Mario Gonzalez Arenales, a Northern California man who died after he was restrained by police officers in April, has filed a wrongful death claim The incident is under investigation by the Alameda County Sheriff's Department, the Alameda County district attorney's office, and Louise Renne, a former San Francisco city attorney, who was hired to conduct an independent investigation. "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. The epic California snowpack is inching toward record levels, Massive Tahoe avalanche 'engulfed' 3-story apartment building, city officials hired Louise Renne of the Renne Public Law Group in San Francisco, Opinion: The our city is broken and Im not gonna take it anymore screed, San Francisco is at its most unaffordable point in at least a decade, S.F. The officers who restrained Gonzalez, James Fisher, Cameron Leahy, and Eric McKinley, remain on administrative leave while the investigation continues, city of Alameda spokeswoman Sarah Henry told KTVU. 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. Email Lisa atlisa.fernandez@fox.comor call her at510-874-0139. The coroner's officer ruled the death a homicide. An independent autopsy confirmed what Mario Gonzalezs family had maintained all along: The 26-year-old Latino father died last year because Alameda, California, police officers knelt on his back for several minutes until he stopped breathing not, as the Alameda County coroners report had implied, because of meth in his system. The emphasis on Gonzalezs drug history incensed an attorney representing the deceased mans son, who accused the coroner of trying to shield the police from scrutiny. In a statement Friday, Alameda Police Chief Nishant Joshi called the death a "tragedy" and said his office will complete a "thorough investigation.". That's utterly ridiculous. Omalu adds that methamphetamine levels in Gonzalezs blood fell within recreational rather than life-threatening ranges and that alcohol levels were extremely low and did not contribute to his death.. His family said he was also the main caregiver for his autistic brother, Efrain. But it won't last long. Im concerned that the sheriff-coroner is trying to protect the Alameda police, Haddad said, arguing that methamphetamine was a false cause of death because the amount in Gonzalezs system 907 nanograms per milliliter of blood was far too low to cause someone to suddenly drop dead.. He declined to provide them ID, and in body cam footage, three officers were seen struggling to put Gonzalez into handcuffs and one of them had kneeled for at least two minutes on top of Gonzalez's back. Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. The proposed reforms include creating a civilian police oversight board, revising the department's use-of-force policies and requiring a "non-police response" to certain types of 911 calls. 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. Fugitive in $18 million COVID fraud scheme extradited to U.S. No weight no weight.. James Fisher, Cameron Leahy and Eric McKinley be fired and charged. No officers were charged. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. In this image taken from Alameda Police Department body-camera video, officers pin Mario Gonzalez to the ground during an arrest on April 19, 2021, in Alameda, Calif. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles, Best coffee city in the world? The family has not gotten any updates from officials in months, according to the familys attorney. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost. He also holds a AA degree in journalism from Contra Costa College (San Pablo). Custody was restrained on his stomach for 5 minutes and lost consciousness, police body camera shows by coroners. Degree in journalism from Contra Costa College ( San Pablo ) rewritten, or redistributed,... 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