A Woodland man who died following an altercation with police officers in February had a toxic level of methamphetamine in his bloodstream, according to a Yolo County coroner’s report made public this week.
Michael Anthony Barrera also had been hospitalized for drug intoxication on at least two occasions in the weeks before his death, with one visit resulting in a temporary psychiatric hold, the report says.
Michael Anthony Barrera. Courtesy photo
The document lists the 30-year-old Barrera’s cause of death as sudden death with methamphetamine intoxication during restraint by law enforcement. His manner of death is undetermined, however, with investigators unable to say with certainty whether it was accidental or a homicide — the latter meaning at the hands of another person.
“There is a possibility the decedent could have died with the quantitated level of methamphetamine in his blood without getting into an altercation with law enforcement,” Deputy Coroner Sheik Ali wrote, quoting the forensic pathologist, Dr. Brian Nagao, who conducted Barrera’s autopsy.
Toxicology results showed Barrera had a methamphetamine level of 1,800 nanograms per milliliter in his bloodstream, nearly twice the amount of 1,000 ng/mL that’s considered potentially lethal.
“On the contrary, Dr. Nagao stated that he cannot determine if the physical contact pathologically caused or contributed to the death, but we cannot exclude the restraint (by police) which was the actions of another,” the report says.
Ali also noted that “no obvious fatal injuries were observed during the postmortem examination,” which was conducted two days after Barrera stopped breathing after being struck with a Taser and handcuffed during the altercation.
Barrera’s family could not be reached for comment Tuesday regarding the report’s contents. They have consulted an attorney and have called for an independent investigation into the events surrounding Barrera’s death.
Officers confronted Barrera at about 12:15 p.m. Feb. 8 after 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, despite CPR efforts from officers and medical personnel, died at Woodland Memorial Hospital. The incident is being investigated by the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office, which has not yet completed its probe.
Cucchi declined to comment on the coroner’s report pending the conclusion of the sheriff’s investigation into the officers’ conduct.
Barrera’s toxicology report showed that his blood tested positive for the stimulants methamphetamine and amphetamine, as well as a small amount of caffeine.
“Blood levels of 200 to 600 ng/mL have been reported in methamphetamine abusers who exhibited violent and irrational behavior,” the report says. “High doses of methamphetamine can also elicit restlessness, confusion, hallucinations, circulatory collapse and convulsions.”
California Department of Justice figures typically put lethal meth levels at 1,000 nanograms per milliliter, although that can vary depending on a person’s drug-use history and state of addiction.
While coroner’s officials had little information about Barrera’s alleged drug-use history, his medical records from Woodland Memorial Hospital showed he was brought to the emergency room less than a month before his death for a drug-related psychiatric evaluation.
According to the report, Barrera “presented under the influence of methamphetamine” during the Jan. 10 visit and had acted delusional in front of his mother, who told police that her son told her “the house is possessed and haunted” and that “police are going to kill me.”
Doctors diagnosed Barrera with bipolar disorder with psychosis and amphetamine use disorder. He was admitted to the hospital on a psychiatric hold and consented to treatment at the time, but requested discharge the following day against medical advice, the report says.
Records showed two earlier hospital visits as well — one on Dec. 10, 2016, for hallucinogen intoxication, and on Nov. 25 for shortness of breath, during which Barrera said he had been exposed to chemicals at work and claimed his employer “was trying to poison him,” the report says.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene