Nate Gartrell and Aaron Davis
East Bay Times
PITTSBURG, Calif. — A Bay Point man who died in police custody was put in a neck hold for at least 50 seconds after he ran from officers, according to body camera videos released last week.
The footage, released to this newspaper in response to a records request, shows officers chasing Humberto Martinez, 32, into a Pittsburg home, struggling to handcuff him, employing a neck hold as Martinez screams, then administering CPR and other medical assistance after they realize he’d stopped breathing.
Martinez’s July 2016 death has become the subject of a federal civil lawsuit, filed by his family, against the city of Pittsburg and several officers. The Martinez family’s attorney called the footage “sickening” and likened it to the high-profile death of Eric Garner, who died after NYPD employed a controversial chokehold on him.
By contrast, Pittsburg police released a two-page statement saying the footage corroborated officers’ accounts that Martinez violently resisted arrest and that his death was a tragic accident. They also released a report from Contra Costa deputy district attorney Barry Groves, who investigates matters involving police, that says officers used “lawful, non-deadly” force in attempting to detain Martinez.
Martinez died on July 26, 2016, after officers attempted to pull him over for an expired tag, following him in a circle until he stopped and ran into a garage in the 4200 block of Hillview Drive. Police say they were in the area to investigate “suspicious narcotics activity.”
The footage shows multiple angles of officers chasing Martinez into the home, and attempting to handcuff him in the kitchen while he is on the floor. They’re heard yelling commands to stop resisting and at one point an officer yells, “He’s still trying to (expletive) bite me.”
In one officer’s body cam, a 1-minute, 44-second video shows an officer chasing Martinez into the garage, stun gun in hand, then following him into the kitchen. The video ends as he begins to employ the neck hold.
Another video shows more officers rushing into the front door to assist two others attempting to arrest Martinez. When they arrive, an officer has Martinez in a neck hold as he lies on the floor and another is sitting on his back. The officer releases his neck about 50 seconds later, after Martinez is handcuffed and another officer says, “Get off.”
The other officer continues to sit on Martinez’s back for another minute.
During the struggle, police are heard yelling “Stop resisting” and “Give me your arm.” Another asks him, “What is your problem, dude?” After Martinez is cuffed, the officer who put him in a neck hold is told to go outside and relax.
As Martinez remains on the floor, an officer pats him on the face and says, “Wake up.” One asks whether Martinez is breathing and another replies, “Yeah, he’s breathing.” About a minute later, they realize he is “going purple” and call for medical help, while removing his handcuffs.
The footage shows several minutes of officers conducting CPR on Martinez, yelling, “Come on, bud,” and telling him to “Breathe” and “Wake up.” Another can be heard saying, “Please, don’t croak.” One says he thinks they’re bringing him back, but Martinez is led out on a stretcher minutes later and a family member can be heard asking if he’s not breathing.
Police say the officers and AMR personnel were able to bring back a pulse but that Martinez died at a hospital later that day. The medical examiner listed cause of death as “probable mechanical obstruction of respiration complicated by carotid sinus reflex stimulation,” due to the carotid hold. Methamphetamine in his system could have made him more prone to death, the coroner’s report says.
“While we believe that the involved officers here acted lawfully, appropriately and consistent with training and expertise, it is always tragic when an individual loses his life, whether in a confrontation with the police or in other circumstances — and this is certainly no exception,” Pittsburg police Cpt. Steve Albanese said in a statement to this newspaper.
The officer who employed the neck hold is not identified, but Pittsburg Officer Ernesto Mejia has testified that he put Martinez in a carotid hold during the struggle. He is named as a defendant in the suit. After the incident, an unidentified officer interviews Mejia while another officer who participated in the struggle stands a few feet away.
“He kept on trying to bite me, so I put him in a chokehold,” Mejia says, demonstrating with his arms.
“You mean the carotid?” the unidentified officer says.
“Yeah, the carotid,” Mejia says, adding that Martinez was trying to “punch me and head-butt me” throughout the incident.
A coroner’s inquest jury, which carries no civil or criminal liability, found Martinez’s death to be an accident. His family sued in July, alleging police had beaten up Martinez and used an illegal chokehold. Michael Haddad, a civil attorney representing the Martinez family, said Martinez suffered injuries to his windpipe and throat that showed police hadn’t used a proper carotid hold, which is intended to restrict blood to the brain, not the airways.
“The officers work as a team to keep him in a chokehold and then press down on his back until they suffocated him,” Haddad said.
Police departments rarely release body camera footage from fatal incidents; the footage can be found exempt from mandatory disclosure under the state’s Public Records Act if it is the subject of an active investigation, or if it relates to a complaint in an officer’s personnel file. In this case, Pittsburg police had shown the footage to a member of the public — Haddad — which bars them from refusing other members of the public to view it. The police statement says the department released the footage “in the interest of transparency.”
The carotid hold involves the use of both arms to squeeze certain arteries in a person’s neck. It is employed by many U.S. police departments but has drawn criticism because it can sometimes cause arteries to close and not re-open. Some police departments that allow carotid holds also restrict officers from employing them except in life-or-death situations.
©2017 the Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.)