California To Pay $24M Settlement to Family of Man Who Died in Police Custody After Telling Them “I Can’t Breathe”

On Tuesday, lawyers said that California would pay a $24 million civil rights settlement to the family of a man who died in police custody in March 2020.

Earlier this year, seven California Highway Patrol officers and a nurse were charged with involuntary manslaughter after it was reported that Edward Bronstein died in police custody after screaming, “I can’t breathe,” as they restrained him while trying to take a blood sample.

Attorneys for Bronstein’s young children, Annee Della Donna and Eric Dubin, said it is the state of California’s largest civil rights settlement of its kind and the second largest nationally since the city of Minneapolis paid $27 million to George Floyd’s family.

The settlement comes amid increasing scrutiny of potentially fatal restraints. Just last week, Jordan Neely, a NY subway rider, was murdered by a U.S. Marine veteran after being placed in a chokehold.

Bronstein died as a result of “acute methamphetamine intoxication during law enforcement restraint,” according to the Los Angeles County coroner. Bronstein’s race is listed as white in the report.