The Fresno Police Department finally released body camera footage that showed the death of a man named Joseph Perez in their custody back in 2017.
According to Fox 26 News, the 41-year-old man died on May 10th, 2017. An autopsy performed by the Fresno County Coroner found that his death was due to compressive asphyxia during restraint by the police and paramedics.
The Coroner also believed that his intake of methamphetamine, 24 times over the level that is considered toxic, was also a contributing factor.
Dr. Michael Chambles, the forensic pathologist who did Perez’s autopsy, ruled his death a homicide.
The Perez family filed a lawsuit against both the Fresno Police Department and American Ambulance, asking for further training for all departments involved and disciplinary action for the first responders who where on scene.
The Fresno Police Department says officers stopped Perez to talk to him. They observed him walking in a roadway at Palm and Santa Fe, and believed he was showing signs of distress. The Department also claimed it received numerous 911 calls from people, who were concerned for Mr. Perez’s wellbeing.
After cops stopped him, they maintained that they placed him in handcuffs and laid him down on his stomach–for his own safety.
“He resisted and his distress grew, despite efforts to calm him,” Fresno Police Chief Andy Hall said. “Unknown to officers at the time was that Mr. Perez had a long history of contact with law enforcement.”
Perez can be heard screaming in the body cam footage. Officers can be heard repeatedly telling him, “You’re fine. Just breathe. Relax.”
“If you’re applying pressure to someone’s back and keep them from breathing, it doesn’t help for them to say, ‘Just breathe, everything is okay,'” Neil Gehlawat, the Perez family’s attorney explained.
Perez had been taken in for a mental health evaluation only a day before his death and was discharged shortly thereafter. Perez’s attorneys claim this is evidence that he would not have died had it not been for interference by officers, deputies, and paramedics.
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