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Newly released body camera footage of an incident in May 2017 provides new details on the death of Joseph Perez, a man who died after being held 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, Perez, 41, can be seen in distress, lying face down on the ground as an officer repeatedly tells him to breathe.
Perez can be heard saying to the officers, “Help me.” He later died on his way to the hospital.
When officers first saw Perez, they said he appeared disturbed and was standing on the pavement.
An officer said, “Joseph, we’re here to help you.”
A lawsuit filed by Perez’s family blames three entities: Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputies, Fresno Police and the US Ambulance, which the family said asked the police to use the advice of a paramedic to restrain him – a maneuver the paramedics suggested to help secure Perez so they could have him. in the ambulance.
In the video, an officer can be seen sitting on top of Perez. He said, “We have to … sit on this board.”
Michelle Perez, Joseph Perez’s sister, said: “16 minutes was the time I saw my brother get murdered.”
The then chief of police – Andrew Hall – said an internal investigation found that no excessive force was used and blamed the drug for the death of Perez, who he said “is become combative “.
“Mr. Perez was found to have a methamphetamine level that was 24 times the toxic level,” Hall said.
The coroner’s office determined that Perez died of “asphyxiation during the restraint.”
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