ALAMEDA – Police said Tuesday that officers did not use weapons during a scuffle that ended in a man’s death in Alameda on Monday, and pledged to release body-worn camera footage of the incident soon.
Video from the three officers involved in the fatal confrontation has been turned over to investigators with the Alameda County Sheriff’s and District Attorney’s offices, the Alameda Police Department said in a statement Tuesday.
The coroner’s office, meanwhile, identified the man who died as Mario Arenales Gonzalez, 26, of Oakland. Police said his cause of death was not yet known, but an autopsy was pending.
Officers were called to the 800 block of Oak Street about 10:45 a.m. Monday for “two separate reports of a male who appeared to be under the influence and a suspect in a possible theft,” police said.
Gonzales got into a scuffle with the officers and suffered a medical emergency when they tried to place his hands behind his back, authorities said, adding that “officers did not use any weapons.” Gonzalez was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The officers who were involved in the encounter have all been placed on routine paid administrative leave, police said. Those officers’ names were not disclosed Tuesday.
The sheriff’s office is handling the criminal investigation into the in-custody death, police said. In addition, the district attorney’s office is conducting a parallel probe, and the city plans to hire an outside investigator to do an administrative investigation.
Police said the body-worn camera footage will be released to the public after investigators with the sheriff’s and district attorney’s office finish their interviews, which is expected by the end of next week.
“The protection of human life is our primary duty as police officers,” said Interim Police Chief Randy Fenn in a statement. “The loss of Mr. Gonzalez is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones.”
The Alameda police statement came the same afternoon as the nation and Bay Area watched a verdict in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer who knelt on the neck of George Floyd for nearly 10 minutes before his death.
