Navy vet died after California police knelt on his neck for nearly 5 minutes, family alleges

A Navy veteran affected by a mental health emergency died after a northern California police officer knelt on his neck for nearly 5 minutes, in response to his family, who filed a complaint concerning the incident being in comparison with the demise of George Floyd.

Angelo Quinto’s sister dialed 911 on Dec. 23 as a result of the 30-year-old was struggling a psychological well being disaster and wanted assist. A responding officer with the Antioch Police Department knelt on Quinto’s neck for nearly 5 minutes whereas one other officer restrained his legs, family mentioned. Quinto misplaced consciousness and was taken by ambulance to a hospital, the place he died three days later.

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“These Antioch police officers had already handcuffed Angelo but did not stop their assault on the young man and inexplicably began using the ‘George Floyd’ technique of placing a knee on the back and side of his neck, ignoring Mr. Quinto pleas of ‘please don’t kill me,'” John Burris, an legal professional representing the family, mentioned at a press conference Thursday.

Quinto’s sister, 18-year-old Bella Collins, said she now regrets calling police, explaining she was involved that, due to her brother’s situation, he would possibly damage her mother due to his insistence that she stick with him. Quinto’s mom, Cassandra Quinto-Collins, claims she had been hugging her son and he was calm by the point officers arrived at their residence in Antioch, 45 miles east of San Francisco.

When the officers entered the home, they allegedly made no effort to realize a transparent understanding of what was going on and as a substitute, with no provocation, instantly pulled Quinto from his mom’s arms and threw him to the ground and commenced holding him down, Burris mentioned.

One officer positioned his knee on the again of Quinto’s neck and on the identical time one other officer bent each of Quinto’s legs up towards his again, Burris mentioned. Quinto-Collins mentioned she started recording on her cellphone when her son’s eyes rolled behind his head. The video published to YouTube on Feb.18 by their authorized group, reveals Quinto listless, with a bloodied face and his palms cuffed behind him, as officers slowly flipped over his physique.  

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“I trusted the police because I thought they knew what they were doing but he was actually passive and visibly not dangerous or a threat so it was absolutely unnecessary what they did to him,” the mom mentioned. “I was horrified to see my son snatched from arms without warning, taken down on my bedroom floor and brutally killed in front of my eyes.”

This Jan. 4, 2018 photograph offered by Isabella Collins, Navy veteran Angelo Quinto smiles at his residence in Berkeley, Calif. (Isabella Collins by way of AP)

The family filed a authorized declare in opposition to the Antioch Police Department final week, which supplies the division 45 days to reply. After that point has elapsed, Burris mentioned the family will file a federal lawsuit.

The Antioch Police Department didn’t instantly return a voicemail left by Fox News Wednesday. The division has launched little details about the incident, apart from confirming Quinto’s demise on Jan. 25 in response to inquiries made by the East Bay Times.

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Burris mentioned there have been different points with the officers’ response, together with how they did not attempt to first discuss to Quinto, and the way they failed to show on their physique cameras and the digicam of their patrol automobile. A explanation for demise has not been launched by authorities and an impartial post-mortem is pending, Burris mentioned.

Quinto, who was born within the Philippines, was honorably discharged from the Navy in 2019 due to a meals allergy, his sister mentioned. He suffered from melancholy most of his life, however his conduct modified after an obvious assault in early 2020, when he awakened in a hospital not remembering what had occurred however had stitches and critical accidents. After that, he started having episodes of paranoia and anxiousness.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.