In the quiet of an April morning in 2021, a 26-year-old Latino man named Mario Gonzalez was in a small park in Alameda, California. Gonzalez, a father and the main caregiver for his mother and autistic brother, was described by his family as a respectful and lovely person. On this particular day, police received calls about a man who appeared to be intoxicated and disoriented.
When officers arrived, they found Gonzalez with two Walgreens baskets and open bottles of alcohol.
What began as a seemingly calm interaction, as captured on police body camera footage, soon escalated. Officers attempted to question Gonzalez, who appeared dazed and was unable to produce identification. When they tried to handcuff him, a struggle ensued. Gonzalez was forced to the ground, face down in a mulch-covered area. For over five minutes, three officers, later identified as Eric McKinley, James Fisher, and Cameron Leahy, used their body weight to hold him down, with at least one officer placing a knee on his back. Gonzalez could be heard gasping for air, pleading with the officers, 'Please don't do this to me,' before he lost consciousness. Despite the officers' attempts to perform CPR and administer Narcan, he was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The initial report from the Alameda Police Department stated that Gonzalez had a 'medical emergency' following a 'physical altercation.' However, Gonzalez's family, after viewing the body camera footage, disputed this narrative, drawing parallels to the murder of George Floyd. An initial autopsy conducted by the Alameda County Coroner's Bureau ruled the death a homicide but listed the primary cause as 'toxic effects of methamphetamine,' with other contributing factors including the stress of the restraint, alcoholism, and morbid obesity. This finding was contested by the family's lawyers, who commissioned a second, independent autopsy. Renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu concluded that Gonzalez died from 'restraint asphyxiation,' directly caused by the officers pinning him to the ground.
For nearly three years, the officers involved remained on paid administrative leave. Then, in April 2024, following a renewed investigation under a new District Attorney, McKinley, Fisher, and Leahy were charged with involuntary manslaughter. The decision to press charges was a significant development, offering a glimmer of hope to Gonzalez's family in their pursuit of justice. However, in a subsequent turn of events, a judge dismissed the charges against officers James Fisher and Cameron Leahy, citing that the prosecution had missed the three-year statute of limitations. The case against Officer Eric McKinley is proceeding. The City of Alameda has reached settlements with Gonzalez's family for a total of $11 million.
