A Latino man in Alameda, California, died after being pinned to the ground face down by police for about five minutes.
On April 19, 26-year-old Mario Arenales González was confronted in a park by police who were responding to calls of a man that appeared disoriented or drunk. After speaking with González for about 11 minutes, a scuffle then began when police tried to handcuff him.
“Can you please put your hand behind your back and stop resisting us?” one of the officers says. Body cam footage shows two police officers then forcing González to the ground on his stomach. At one point, one of the officers asks, “What are we going to do, just keep him pinned down?”
A few seconds later, one of the officers says, “It’s OK, Mario. We’re going to take care of you.”
After nearly five minutes on the ground, the officers realize that something is not right when González becomes unresponsive. They turn him to his side and call out his name. “You gotta pulse?” one of the officers asks. “No pulse,” another answers.
The officers then begin chest compressions on González for four minutes until paramedics arrive. “He went from combative to non-responsive almost immediately,” one of the officers tells the paramedic.
An autopsy has not been performed yet, but González’s family blames the officers for his death. “The police killed my brother in the same manner they killed George Floyd,” Gerardo González says.
According to the New York Times, the officers involved–Eric McKinley, Cameron Leahy and James Fisher – were put on leave pending investigation.