Custom camera footage of an incident in May 2017 contains new details about the death of Joseph Perez, a man who died after being restrained by law enforcement in Fresno, California.
In his final moments, Perez told officers, “I can’t breathe,” according to a 16-minute video of the incident released Friday.
In the video, the 41-year-old Perez can be seen in distress and lying with his face on the ground while an officer repeatedly tells him to breathe.
Peres can be heard saying to officers: ‘Help me’. He later died on the way to hospital.
When officers first saw Perez, they said he appeared disturbed and stood in the way.
An officer said, ‘Joseph, we’re here to help you. ‘
A lawsuit filed by the Perez family blames three agencies: Fresno County sheriff’s deputies, Fresno police and the U.S. ambulance, which, according to the family, asked police to seek the advice of a paramedic. used to keep him in the battle. in the ambulance.
In the video, an officer can be seen sitting on Perez. He says, “We have to … sit on the board.”
Michelle Perez, the sister of Joseph Perez, said: “16 minutes was the time I watched my brother be killed.”
Police chief at the time – Andrew Hall – said an internal investigation had found that excessive violence was not being used, and blamed drugs for Perez’s death, which he said had become “combative”.
‘It was found that Mr. “Perez has a level of methamphetamine that is 24 times the toxic level,” Hall said.
The coroner’s office found that Perez had died of “asphyxiation during restraint.”