Video After The Jump
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California man died nearly 2 years ago as he screamed “I can’t breathe” while multiple officers restrained him as they tried to take a blood sample.
Edward Bronstein, 38, was taken into custody by California Highway Patrol officers on March 31, 2020, following a traffic stop. Bronstein died less than 2 months before George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis as he, too, repeatedly told officers “I can’t breathe.”
A nearly 18-minute video, taken by a CHP sergeant at the Altadena station, was released Tuesday after a judge’s order to make it public. Bronstein’s family has filed a federal lawsuit against the officers, alleging excessive force & a violation of civil rights. The family is also calling for the officers to be criminally charged by the Los Angeles County district attorney.
The LA County coroner’s office ruled Bronstein’s cause of death as “acute methamphetamine intoxication during restraint by law enforcement.”
“When the nation was in an uproar over the George Floyd tragedy, we had no idea this had also happened to Mr. Bronstein,” said Luis Carrillo, an attorney for Bronstein’s family.
A spokesperson for the LA County District Attorney’s Office said “the matter remains under review.”
“In my view the officers demonstrated a callous disregard for the value of human life and their actions should be investigated as potentially being criminal conduct,” said Bowling Green State University criminal justice professor Philip Stinson.
Family members say Bronstein was terrified of needles & believe that’s why he was reluctant to comply with the CHP initially as they tried to take a blood sample. In the video, an officer tells Bronstein they have a court order — an assertion that Carrillo doubts was true.
Several officers force the handcuffed man to the mat as he shouts “I’ll do it willingly! I’ll do it willingly, I promise!”, the video shows. At least 5 officers continue to hold him down — the lawsuit alleges they put their knees on his back — as he screams “I’ll do it! I’ll do it! I promise!”
One officer replies: “It’s too late.”
Bronstein begins screaming “I can’t breathe!” & “I can’t!” before the blood is taken, shouting it about 8 times & pleading for help as the officers continue to restrain him on the ground.
“Stop yelling!” an officer yells back.
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