RICHMOND — Circumventing a required unbiased evaluate, the Contra Costa Sheriff’s workplace declared unintended the loss of life of a person who handed out after being overwhelmed by police, this information group has realized.
Jose Luis Lopez-Rodriguez, 40, died in a hospital March 19, 2020, two days after Richmond officers tackled him and struck him with batons and fists, whereas trying to arrest him for allegedly assaulting his estranged girlfriend. Six months later, the sheriff’s workplace licensed the loss of life as an accident attributable to “acute cocaine toxicity” and “excited delirium” – the latter of which is a disputed medical idea that not less than three doctor teams have rejected as an improper technique of writing off deaths attributable to police violence.
With its determination, the sheriff’s workplace bypassed an inquest – a trial wherein a jury decides the official method of loss of life of those that die in custody or in incidents the place regulation enforcement brokers are concerned. For 40 years, that course of has acted in Contra Costa County as a examine to make sure that evaluations of regulation enforcement-connected fatalities are thorough and clear.
The odd dealing with of the Lopez-Rodriguez case has led to a stunning spherical of finger-pointing amongst regulation enforcement businesses: The Richmond Police Division and the Contra Costa County District Lawyer’s Workplace have accused the sheriff’s workplace of unilaterally bypassing the inquest course of. The sheriff’s workplace has denied that accusation.
Inquests are presupposed to be held in each case that has even “tangential” regulation enforcement connections, Matthew Guichard, an legal professional who sometimes serves because the presiding officer for inquests, stated on the county’s most up-to-date listening to on the matter.
Lopez-Rodriguez’s loss of life suits the final narrative behind most circumstances that require inquests – in addition to many so-called excited delirium deaths. Round 2:40 p.m. March 17, 2020, police had been known as to a house on South ninth Road, the place it was reported Lopez-Rodriguez was attacking his estranged girlfriend. When officers arrived, Lopez-Rodriguez resisted them, police stated in a information launch on the time.
The coroner’s report says officers “piled” on high of Lopez-Rodriguez, putting him with batons and fists. He suffered bruises on his torso, legs and arms, and burst blood vessels in his eyes. In the course of the battle, he tried to seize an officer’s gun, Richmond police Sgt. Aaron Pomeroy stated.
In the course of the battle, Lopez-Rodriguez appeared to bear medical misery, however was capable of stroll to an ambulance, Pomeroy stated. As soon as contained in the ambulance, he went unconscious and was rushed to the Kaiser hospital in Richmond. He died two days later. The post-mortem later discovered cocaine in his system.
The excited delirium prognosis – made by pathologist Dr. Ikechi Ogan, who contracts with the sheriff’s workplace – is one denounced by the AMA as unsupported by scientific proof. The American Psychiatric Affiliation’s diagnostic handbook doesn’t checklist it as a situation, and a examine launched Tuesday by the Physicians for Human Rights discovered it's not a “legitimate, unbiased medical or psychiatric prognosis” and “can't be disentangled from its racist and unscientific origins.”
“It’s junk science that’s masquerading round as true scientific info,” stated Adante Pointer, a civil rights legal professional who focuses totally on police use of pressure circumstances. “Excited delirium by no means appears to happen besides in cases when the police are concerned and so they’ve been manhandling, wrestling and utilizing pressure in opposition to individuals.”
The PHR examine prominently cites as suspect one other of Ogan’s autopsies, when he discovered excited delirium precipitated the loss of life of 30-year-old Angelo Quinto, who went unconscious and died after a battle with Antioch cops in December 2020. These findings had been made public at a 2021 coroner’s inquest, drawing gasps from a packed viewers principally there to assist Quinto’s household.
As a result of Lopez-Rodriguez went unconscious, police invoked what is named the LEIFI – for law-enforcement concerned deadly incident – protocol on March 17, in anticipation of his eventual loss of life. The concerned officers had been individually interviewed by investigators with Richmond police and the DA’s workplace, in response to spokesmen from each businesses.
The county’s protocol handbook dictates that in uncommon circumstances the place inquest hearings aren’t held, the District Lawyer, Sheriff’s workplace, and concerned regulation enforcement company all should agree an inquest shouldn't be needed.
However that didn’t occur on this case – and there's sharp disagreement as to why.
Jimmy Lee, a spokesman for the sheriff’s workplace, initially instructed this information group that the accountability for the choice lies with the Richmond police.
“Whereas this case was regulation enforcement associated, RPD declined to invoke protocol, which meant there could be no inquest into the loss of life,” he stated in an electronic mail to this newspaper.
Each the DA’s workplace and Richmond police denied this.
“The coroner’s inquest was their determination and so they selected to not do a coroner’s inquest,” Pomeroy, the Richmond Police Sgt., stated in an interview, referring to the sheriff’s workplace. “Richmond PD and the DA’s workplace did a (LEIFI) protocol. All the things was executed as commonplace, as regular by this entire factor till the sheriff’s workplace didn't do an inquest.”
Pomeroy stated that in 2021, he requested a captain with the sheriff’s workplace why no inquest was held. The captain stated one thing to the impact of, “I’ll should get again to you on that,” then by no means adopted up and has since retired, Pomeroy stated.
When requested to reply to Pomeroy’s feedback, Lee appeared to switch his preliminary feedback, telling this information group that the DA’s workplace instructed the sheriff there could be no inquest. However an electronic mail obtained by this newspaper exhibits that a DA inspector reached out to the sheriff’s workplace concerning the inquest standing Jan. 26. On Feb. 7, a sheriff’s deputy with the coroner’s workplace responded, “No inquest – the way and reason for loss of life has been accomplished and the loss of life certificates has been filed with the state.”
Nevetheless, the DA’s workplace says it's investigating the case and expects to launch a report later this 12 months.
“Regardless of the shortage of an inquest, the Workplace of the District Lawyer intends to finalize our factual findings and authorized evaluation, and publish our LEIFI report,” Assistant District Lawyer Simon O’Connell stated in an electronic mail to this newspaper.