Police officers are far more concerned about being prosecuted, unjustly, by an activist District Attorney - than they are about any criminal that they may meet on the street.
This case highlights this fear.
An example of a nightmare.
What Happened
On April 19, 2021 police officers in Alameda, CA were dispatched to a park in reference to a disturbance. The caller reported that a man (later identified as Mario Gonzalez) was “acting strangely and talking to himself”.
Officers Eric McKinley, James Fisher, and Cameron Leahy arrived on scene and made contact with Mr. Gonzalez (26) - who was also suspected of stealing alcohol. The officers spoke with him for over ten minutes in an effort to de-escalate the situation. During this time Mr. Gonzalez refused to identify himself.
At this point the officers make the decision to detain Mr. Gonzalez.
Use of Force
Like in the vast majority of cases that make national news - Mr. Gonzalez did not cooperate with police officers and instead resisted arrest. Despite the active resistance one of the officers plead with him to, “please..” not resist arrest time after time.
As Mr. Gonzalez pulled away, he and the officers fell to the ground. Mr. Gonzalez pinned his hands under his 300+ lb body and made it nearly impossible for officers to gain control of his hands. Eventually, officers were able to gain control of his hands and handcuffed Mr. Gonzalez behind his back.
During this time Mr. Gonzalez was on his stomach and the officers were putting some weight on his back in an effort to apply the handcuffs.
In-Custody Death
After approximately five minutes of struggling in this position Mr. Gonzalez lost consciousness. A few seconds after he stopped moving or making sounds, one of the officers said Mr. Gonzalez was unresponsive. Police officers then rolled him over, and began CPR.
Minutes after CPR was initiated, an officer declared there was “no pulse”. Mr. Gonzalez was later transported to a hospital where he died.
Cause of Death
The Coroner’s report detailed that there were several factors that contributed to the death of Mr. Gonzalez.
According to the autopsy report, Mr. Gonzalez had an "enlarged and dilated heart" and an "enlarged liver ... that had severe fatty change." Toxicology tests detected methamphetamine, amphetamine and ethanol in his body.
The coroner report concluded, "The cause of death is the toxic effects of methamphetamine with the physiologic stress of altercation and restraint, morbid obesity and alcoholism contributing to the process of dying."
No Charges
On March 30, 2022 then Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley publicly released the report from her office which concluded, “After a thorough, extensive and independent investigation by my Office, the evidence does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers broke any laws."
The report also stated that the officers acted “reasonably”. That they tried to "deescalate" the situation and utilized "necessary" force.
Activist DA
Pamela Price was elected as Alameda County DA in November 2022. Ms. Price campaigned on a progressive platform that focused on holding police accountable for killing unarmed people or using unreasonable force.
Early in her tenure Ms. Price re-opened the investigation of the Gonzalez case.
Her reign as DA has been marred with scandal and controversy:
Last month Ms. Price was barred from handling the prosecution of a San Leandro police officer after a judge found that her office was too biased to fairly oversee the case.
Ms. Price is also facing a “recall election”. The citizens were so dismayed with her job performance that the county's registrar of voters certified 74,757 signatures in favor of a recall. This is the first time in Alameda County history that a district attorney has faced a recall election.
And, nearly three years after the incident - Pamela Price charged the three involved officers with Manslaughter.
Support
These officers do have support. After the charges were announced:
The Vice Mayor of Alameda (Tony Daysog) stated, “I am confident that Officers Leahy, McKinley, and Fisher are innocent of the charges brought against them by the Office of the District Attorney.”
The Police Chief (Nishant Joshi) reminded everyone that this case has undergone four separate, independent investigations - that all came to the same conclusion - that the officers did not violate the law.
1) Alameda County Coroner, 2) Alameda County Sheriff, 3) Independent investigation conducted by the former San Francisco City Attorney and County Supervisor Louise Renne, and 4) an internal review conducted by the Chief himself.
Final Thoughts
It appears that the charges against these officers were filed as a desperate attempt to save the political career of Pamela Price. With her tenure as DA slipping away - she grabbed onto the one lifeline that her disgusting activist base will always salivate for - the prosecution of police officers.
If this is the new normal - then police officers involved in objectively reasonable deadly force encounters - would not be able to trust the findings of trained investigators. Police officers would exist in constant limbo and worry for years that activist politicians could undo the work of objective fact finders.
The weight of that stress would make this job unbearable and when policing becomes a job that no reasonable person would do - then no reasonable people will be left to do it.
Upside down world. Arrest George Soros. This is his playbook