The man who died while being taken into Woodland police custody earlier this month had methamphetamine and amphetamine in his system, Yolo County sheriff’s officials said Thursday in announcing the results of toxicology tests.
An autopsy report for Michael Anthony Barrera has yet to be completed, however, and his cause of death remains under investigation, said Sgt. Matt Davis, spokesman for Sheriff Ed Prieto.
“Sheriff Prieto is making it known today that the results clearly establish that Mr. Barrera was under the influence of methamphetamine and amphetamine,” Davis said in a news release.
Relatives were attending Barrera’s funeral when the announcement came out. Barrera’s sister Marissa Barrera, who has been speaking out on the family’s behalf, could not be reached for comment.
The family has been critical of the Woodland Police Department’s handling of the arrest and have questioned whether the Sheriff’s Office will perform an objective investigation into the in-custody death.
Barrera, 30, died on Feb. 8 following a confrontation with Woodland police officers that began when witnesses phoned in reports of a man acting erratically at a Matmor Road apartment complex while armed with a pair of scissors, a kitchen knife and a golf club.
The altercation occurred several blocks away on Garfield Place, where Woodland police Lt. Anthony Cucchi said Barrera, who had been swinging the golf club, set it down, began to run away, then turned and “charged at and assaulted officers,” who subdued him with control holds and a Taser.
Barrera stopped breathing after being handcuffed and later died at Woodland Memorial Hospital.
Marissa Barrera has said the family received conflicting stories about the chain of events of that day and are seeking an independent investigation into the incident by an agency outside of Yolo County.
Their protests, which included a vigil outside the Woodland police station and a march down Main Street, prompted city officials to issue a statement offering condolences to the family and pledging a review of the investigation by additional law-enforcement agencies “to ensure that the facts surrounding the incident are independently validated.”
“Our goal is not only to ascertain the facts surrounding the incident, but also to do so in a manner that instills confidence in the process and supports the need to build trust between the community and the Woodland Police Department,” officials said.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene