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The family of a 36-year-old black man with mental illness who died as a result of an argument with the San Mateo County Sheriff believes that overly aggressive tactics have been used to control him and called for a transparent and thorough investigation. about this incident.
On Oct. 3, a sheriff's deputy landed on Chinedu Okobi, 36, of Pacifica, entering and exiting traffic on the 1300 block of El Camino Real in Millbrae, authorities said. Okobi reportedly refused to cooperate and the MP called for help.
San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said two aides had charged Okobi with controlling and handcuffing him, when Okobi suffered a cardiac arrest. He was transported to the Mills-Peninsula Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
The family will hold a memorial ceremony for Okobi Tuesday at the San Francisco Christian Center, followed by a press conference.
John Burris, a civil rights lawyer representing the family, called on the district attorney's office to disclose more information, including videos of the incident on the camera's dashboard cameras and mobile phone witnesses.
"All I know is a dead young man and he was in police custody," Burris said. "He was not armed and had not committed any serious crimes."
Burris also represented the families of Mario Woods, Oscar Grant and Rodney King in civil litigation against police services.
Okobi's family said they had mental health problems and wondered about the police response to him in times of crisis.
"It was a harsh approach against someone who was very likely working in mental health conditions," Burris said. "They might not know it beforehand, but observations should alert them that something was happening."
Wagstaffe expects the Okobi death investigation to take eight to ten weeks. Meanwhile, the prosecutor said that he would review the interviews with each of the five deputies involved, an autopsy report, a mobile phone and a video camera from the dashboard, and interview all the witnesses of the incident to determine whether criminal charges were warranted.
An autopsy report has not yet been completed.
"It's a crucial thing for us. Why is this man dead? "Said Wagstaffe. "If I decided that there was excessive use of force, it would be a violation of the law and several laws treat it."
This is the third time this year in San Mateo County that the suspect died after being transferred.
In January, Warren Ragudo, 34, of Daly City, died after one officer assigned him, while two other officers pressed him. In August, Ramsey Saad, 55, lost consciousness and died later after being arrested by a Redwood City police officer.
Wagstaffe continues his investigation into the Saad case and found no criminal offense in the Ragudo case.
Ashley McBride is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @ashleynmcb
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