The Alameda County sheriff-coroner’s finding that the death of Mario Gonzalez as police pinned him to the ground was a homicide could pave the way for criminal charges against the officers involved.
The release Friday of an autopsy pointing in part to the “stress of altercation and restraint” as a cause of death for the unarmed 26-year-old in a park on Oak Street in Alameda has prompted fresh calls for the Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley to file charges from his family’s lawyers.
But legal analysts say the case that some have compared to the 2020 Minneapolis murder of George Floyd at the hands of Officer Derek Chauvin is not so clear cut.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s criminal,” said John Burris, the Oakland civil rights attorney who once represented Rodney King. “It’s not synonymous with murder or criminal conduct per se. It might seem that way, but it just means death at the hands of another.”
In the Floyd case, Chauvin knelt on Floyd for more than nine minutes, showing disregard for his life. The officers who responded to calls about Gonzalez, who callers said appeared intoxicated and suspected of shoplifting, kept him face down on the ground for about five minutes and began chest compressions to revive him after he became unresponsive.
“I don’t know that I would consider this willful conduct,” Burris said.
But, he added, “It’s not a new police issue…I think the officers should know better.”
As O’Malley, whose office did not respond to a request for comment Saturday, considers her options, she will be looking at what type of training the officers had, Burris said.
Her office also will be seeking input from more medical experts, said Steven Clark, a former Santa Clara County prosecutor.
The coroner’s opinion that restraint was a significant factor in Gonzalez’s death, Clark said, “is one medical doctor’s opinion…This is going to be a complex medical question,” different from, say, a gunshot to the heart.
O’Malley’s team also likely will be exploring whether Gonzalez’s behavior warranted police intervention.
“You have to ask whether you really needed law enforcement personnel in this situation,” Clark said. “He was someone in need of services.”
The autopsy report, which cited “toxic effects of methamphetamine” as the cause of death, found that in addition to the stress of the altercation and restraint, “morbid obesity” and “alcoholism” contributed to Gonzalez’s death.
Police, Clark said, are trained to take someone “as they find them,” and should have been aware that restraining someone who was overweight and under the influence could end badly. “It was just a disaster waiting to happen.”
At the very least, Clark said, “clearly there is going to be civil liability.”
Still, the homicide determination comes as advocates across the country are pushing prosecutors to hold police, who have historically avoided charges in officer-involved deaths, criminally responsible.
“I certainly think there’s enough information if I were DA to file charges,” said Pamela Price, who is running against county prosecutors Terry Wiley and Jimmie Wilson to be the county’s next district attorney. O’Malley has announced she will not seek another term.
Price said she would want to review all of the available body camera footage and the officers’ statements, as well as the officers’ history, before settling on specific charges. But, she said, getting a homicide determination from the coroner at all is unusual and could help build a case.
“It’s not common for us to get this kind of clear statement,” she said.
Still, she said, the district attorney’s office doesn’t “take their cue from the coroner,” and could decide not to mount a case against the officers.
“The city’s independent investigation and the district attorney’s investigation are ongoing and will be informed by the findings from the coroner’s investigation,” Alameda spokesperson Sarah Henry said in an email.
But O’Malley has leveled charges against an officer before. Last September, she filed charges against former San Leandro Police Sgt. Jason Fletcher in the shooting death of an alleged shoplifter at a Walmart — the first time she’s pushed to prosecute a police officer.
Gonzalez left behind a young son, also named Mario.
“Little Mario and we will hold the officers accountable in a federal civil rights wrongful death case, but we expect Nancy O’Malley to do her job and criminally prosecute the officers for this homicide, like any other criminals,” said Julia Sherwin, a lawyer for the family.
“The death of little Mario’s Papi has been devastating for him,” Sherwin said. “He will live the rest of his life fatherless. He still asks his mom why his Papi is not waking up.”
In a statement, Alameda Police Chief Nishant Joshi said his heart goes out to the family. The officers involved are on administrative leave.
“I’m committed to full transparency and accountability,” he said, “into the tragic death of Mr. Gonzalez.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com