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. Gonzalez's life began to unravel during the pandemic. Sarah Ruiz-Grossman. Mario Gonzalez Arenales, 26, died last year after an encounter with police officers in Alameda, California. Haddad said his firm has hired a doctor to conduct a second autopsy, the results of which have not yet been finalized. Staggering snowfall in California mountains leaves residents trapped for days, SpaceX launches new crew to space station, Prosecution wraps case at Alex Murdaugh murder trial, White House cybersecurity strategy pivots to regulation, Explosive found in checked luggage at Pennsylvania airport, feds say, Rape kits from two women lead to arrest in 1979 murder of one of them, FDA authorizes first at-home test for both COVID and flu, Couple accuses fertility clinic of implanting embryo with cancer genes, Several hospitalized after Lufthansa flight diverted to Dulles due to turbulence, California man dies after police pin him down, Bodycam video shows California man who died after officers pinned him to ground for 5 minutes. 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 the statement. "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.". Then the cops put Marios hands behind his back and pinned him facedown. A week after Gonzalezs death, the city identified the officers placed on leave as James Fisher, Cameron Leahy and Eric McKinely. Thats all, the officer says. "He's hyperventilating, he's obese, apparently he's been drinking Officers need to recognize those factors and take them into consideration.". 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. of Gonzalezs death, his younger brother, Jerry, spoke to a crowd of dozens of mourners in the park where he was killed. The officers approach to Mr Gonzalez detention and arrest and their use of force appeared reasonable under the circumstances, the report says. "We need justice because we lost someone who was indispensable to our family," Gonzalez's mother told CBS stationKPIX-TVlast week. Examiners also detected ethanol in Gonzalezs system and found signs of alcoholism and obesity, including an enlarged and dilated heart and an enlarged liver with severe fatty change. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Lisa Fernandez and Evan Sernoffsky are reporters forKTVU. 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.. Gonzalez was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. Body camera footage, released 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. 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. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost. Off work, he enjoys playing in bands, busking and karaoke. Kelly added that the investigation of Gonzalezs death needs this level of action for public trust.. , released Wednesday, said that Gonzalez died on April 19, 2021, from restraint asphyxiation, according to forensic pathologist Bennet Omalu. Asked why the officers couldn't have called a family member to pick him up or let him sit on a benchto wait it out instead of restraining him,Wilkinson said those approaches would not have likely worked out because of his disorientation. In an autopsy report released Friday, chief forensic pathologist Vivian Snyder categorized Gonzalezs death as a homicide, while citing other factors, including 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. He fought the officers, and they used reasonable techniques. The independent autopsy confirms what we all saw with our own eyes. He got depressed. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan. 2023 FOX Television Stations, until THU 9:00 AM PST, Mendocino County Coast, until THU 8:00 AM PST, Carquinez Strait and Delta, from THU 12:00 AM PST until THU 9:00 AM PST, North Bay interior valleys, East Bay Interior Valleys, Santa Clara Valley including San Jose, Santa Lucia Mountains and Los Padres National Forest, from SAT 4:00 AM PST until SUN 4:00 PM PST, Southern Lake County, Northwestern Mendocino Interior, Northeastern Mendocino Interior, Southeastern Mendocino Interior, Northern Lake County, High Stakes: Sports Betting in California, originallytold the public that hehad died, Several experts have said that officers have long been trained, Teacher's TikTok plea helps clear thousands of dollars in school lunch debt, Study finds General Motors and Tesla have the most loyal customers, Instacart delivers after twin daughters almost make an $800 purchase, Bald eagles make home in unusual spot at Alameda golf course, Fishermen find remains of missing man inside shark. Discovery Company. His death was ruled a homicide but also linked to health and drug use, Oakland leaders are scrambling to tackle violence and attract police officers. He was anxious and was prescribed medications to help. Mario Gonzalez, a 26-year-old father and east Oakland resident, stopped breathing after an 19 April encounter with police at a park in the city of Alameda, in the San 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. Part of HuffPost Politics. All Rights Reserved. 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. 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. Edith Arenales of Oakland holds a picture of her son, Mario Gonzalez, who was killed by Alameda police on April 19, 2021. George Kelly is a breaking news reporter for the Bay Area News Group's East Bay Times and Mercury News. The APD took a calm situation and made it fatal.". Members of the Gonzalez family believe police used excessive force when they attempted to arrest him. Alameda Police "mishandled" the arrest of 26-year-old Mario Gonzalez last week and caused his death, according to the attorney representing the man's family. Gonzalez died April 19 after police pinned him to the ground for at least five minutes. Police body camera video released a week after his death shows multiple officers holding Gonzalez to the ground for five minutes while attempting to arrest him on suspicion of shoplifting, a misdemeanor. Gonzalez family: Police body-worn camera footage shows what we alreadyknew 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. In this case, one officer recognized the danger, asking shortly before Gonzalez stopped breathing if they should roll him on his side. 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? Those statement did not mention Gonzalez being pinned to the ground. The officers, as they seek to restrain him, repeatedly ask Gonzalez for his full name and birth date. Gonzalez, 26, of Oakland, died on April 19 at a hospital after being pinned down as Alameda police tried to arrest him. Body camera footage shows the police restraining Gonzalez for five minutes, at which point he went limp. Walking around with that level of meth, he wouldnt have dropped dead at that moment but for the force by police, Haddad said. The report notes that, according to the autopsy, Gonzalez had no lethal injuries., Alison Berry Wilkinson, an attorney who represents the three officers, told CNN they are grateful the district attorney recognized that this tragic death was an unintended consequence of their legitimate and lawful actions.. 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. After learning his name, the officer adds, Mario, just please stop fighting us.. 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. 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