Man dies in police custody after screaming 'I can't breathe', video released
US police brutality rises to the surface once again after a judge ordered authorities in California to release a video of Edward Bronstein's arrest, which later led to his death.
-
US police brutality to the surface again
Following a judge's order, authorities in California have released a video depicting a man who screams "I can't breathe" multiple times as he is restrained by numerous police officers.
The officers were attempting to take a blood sample of the man, Edward Bronstein, who died in March 2020 after a California Highway Patrol (CHP) traffic stop.
The death of Bronstein occurred less than two months before George Floyd told Minneapolis police the same thing before being killed.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the cause of death of Bronstein was "acute methamphetamine intoxication during restraint by law enforcement."
In a wrongful-death case filed against the cops, the man's family said they used excessive force and violated Bronstein's civil rights.
They also want the L.A. County district attorney's office to prosecute the cops engaged in the traffic stop.
According to NBC, "Lawyers representing the CHP and the officers in court filings have denied any unconstitutional or other types of wrong conduct, and said they were performing their official duties impartially and fairly."
Officers force Bronstein face-down onto a mat while he yells, "I'll do it willingly, I promise!" However, an officer informs him that it is too late and that there is a court order for a blood sample before other officers detain him.
As officers hold him down, he tells them he cannot breathe as they continue to draw blood.
Minutes later, the officers begin shaking him, only to see he is unresponsive. They tell him to "wake up" and check for a pulse. They do not begin with CPR until over 11 minutes after his last screams.
The family of Bronstein reported that he did not comply initially due to his fear of needles.
According to Luis Carrillo, an attorney for Bronstein's family, "the nation was in an uproar over the George Floyd tragedy, we had no idea this had also happened to Mr. Bronstein."
The case is only a string of police brutality cases in the US in recent years.
On Tuesday, a prosecutor announced that Chicago police officers who fatally shot Adam Toledo, 13, and Anthony Alvarez, 22, last year, will not be faced with charges due to "insufficient evidence".
The New York Times reported that the number of people killed by US police officers has not decreased since George Floyd and Daunte Wright's murders in 2020, knowing that many US police violence cases go unreported or misclassified in official records.
Although ex-officers Derek Chauvin and Kimberly Potter were convicted for the killings of Floyd and Wright respectively, "accountability for officers who kill remains elusive," the newspaper said.
In the meantime, a study conducted by the University of Washington showed that Black people were 3.5 times more likely than white people to be killed by officers.
