Woodland police used “reasonable and necessary force” during its confrontation with a man who later stopped breathing and died after being struck several times with a Taser, according to a review of the incident by the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office.
Although prosecutors concluded that no criminal charges are warranted in connection with the Feb. 8 death of Michael Anthony Barrera, Woodland city officials have requested an additional review of the incident by the state Attorney General’s Office.
Michael Anthony Barrera. Courtesy photo
“As always, the city’s goal is not only to ascertain the facts surrounding this 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,” City Manager Paul Navazio said in a statement Wednesday evening announcing the DA’s findings.
“Mr. Barrera’s death is a tragedy and our thoughts continue to be with his family,” Navazio added.
Stewart Katz, a Sacramento civil rights attorney who contends police used unreasonable force while detaining Barrera and is preparing a wrongful-death lawsuit on his family’s behalf, said the DA’s decision came as no surprise.
“It’s a realistic conclusion. Who in their right mind would think you could prove criminal liability on the part of the officers” in terms of obtaining a conviction based on the legal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt — particularly in light of recent U.S. cases in which police have avoided criminal convictions for shooting unarmed people, Katz said.
Barrera, 30, died on the afternoon of Feb. 8 following a confrontation with Woodland police officers who responded to reports of a man acting erratically at a Matmor Road apartment complex while armed with a large kitchen knife, a pair of scissors and a golf club.
The altercation occurred several blocks away on Garfield Place, where Barrera, still holding the golf club, ignored police orders to drop it, according to the DA’s 28-page report on the incident.
Read the report here: BARRERA-MICHAEL
Concerned about Barrera’s agitated state in a residential neighborhood with a school nearby, officers sought to restrain him “in order to minimize the risk of Barrera escaping and posing a safety hazard to other citizens,” the report says.
The document says Barrera attempted to jump over a resident’s fence, then turned and charged at Sgt. Tom Davis. Both men fell to the ground, where “Barrera began to grab and dig his fingers into Sergeant Davis’ eyes and face.”
Davis struck Barrera several times in the face while another officer, Parveen Lal, deployed his Taser three times at Barrera without any apparent effect.
The report later indicates that an analysis of the Taser showed four separate “trigger activities” during the confrontation with Barrera, but whether all made contact is unknown.
Several officers then attempted to subdue Barrera on the ground. He continued to struggle despite being handcuffed, prompting an officer to use his knee to hold down Barrera’s shoulder to overcome the resistance.
“At one point, Barrera said he could not breathe,” the report says. Several minutes later, Barrera vomited and became unresponsive. Officers attempted CPR, but Barrera died after being transported to a local hospital.
Yolo County coroner’s officials concluded that Barrera had a toxic and potentially lethal level of methamphetamine in his bloodstream and succumbed to sudden death with methamphetamine intoxication during restraint by law enforcement.
Barrera’s manner of death was undetermined, however, with investigators unable to say with certainty whether it was accidental or a homicide — meaning at the hands of another.
“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 in his report, quoting the forensic pathologist, Dr. Brian Nagao, who conducted Barrera’s autopsy.
However, “Dr. Nagao stated that he cannot determine if the physical contact pathologically caused or contributed to the death, but we cannot exclude the restraint which was the actions of another,” the coroner’s report says.
Read the coroner’s report here: Barrera-Coroner Report
Katz noted that the DA’s report omits the latter part of that statement, a “red flag” in his view. He said the document also appears to focus largely on Barrera’s behavior and the charges he might have faced had he survived, deflecting the actions of the officers that day.
“I believe that was the purpose of this report, absolutely,” Katz said.
An investigation of the officers’ actions was conducted by the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office, whose findings then were reviewed by the DA’s Office.
“Consistent with best practices and to ensure that the results of this investigation are independently validated, the city has formally requested that the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, conduct an additional review of this incident,” Navazio said Tuesday.
An internal investigation by the Woodland Police Department remains ongoing, he added.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene
Read more:
Family disputes police account of man’s in-custody death: http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/crime-fire-courts/family-disputes-…in-custody-death
Coroner: Meth intoxication factored into arrested man’s death: http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/crime-fire-courts/coroner-meth-int…ested-mans-death
Attorney: Unreasonable police force led to Woodland man’s death: http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/crime-fire-courts/attorney-unreaso…dland-mans-death