Today, civil rights law firm Haddad & Sherwin LLP released the results of the second, independent autopsy it obtained on Mario Gonzalez. The second autopsy, performed by noted forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet I. Omalu, confirms that rather than methamphetamine toxicity, Mario Gonzalez’s cause of death was restraint asphyxiation. In April…
Excited Delirium Blames Victims of Wrongful Death in California and Beyond For years, Haddad & Sherwin attorney Julia Sherwin has been working to dismantle the theory of “Excited Delirium,” a common and baseless defense police use when they kill someone during restraint, like George Floyd, Mario Gonzalez, and Daniel Prude.…
Next Steps in the Mario Gonzalez Wrongful Death Case Just one week after the Alameda County Coroner’s office declared Mario Gonzalez’s death a homicide, renowned California civil rights lawyers Haddad & Sherwin have filed a federal wrongful death suit against the City of Alameda, California, and the involved police officers.…
May 10, 2021 Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530-0001 Pamela S. Karlan Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Office of the Assistant Attorney General, Main Washington, D.C. 20530 Re: Death of Mario Gonzalez…
On Tuesday, February 23, 2021, a grand jury refused to bring criminal charges against the Rochester, New York, police officers who killed Daniel Prude. Last March, Mr. Prude was in a psychiatric crisis, naked in the street outside his brother’s home. He had been visiting his brother from out of town,…
We helped our two clients, the children of Humberto (“Beto”) Martinez, settle their claims for their father’s wrongful chokehold death for $7.3 million plus police reforms. This local case involved Pittsburg police officers’ use of a carotid hold and choke hold, and other highly injurious force, on video, while Beto…
This local case involved Pittsburg police officers’ use of a carotid hold and choke hold, and other highly injurious force, on video, while Beto Martinez can be heard saying, “I can’t breathe!” much like the more publicized cases of George Floyd and Eric Garner. On the afternoon of July 26,…
Buffalo, New York, police recently shoved Martin Gugino, a 75-year-old man who was protesting the murder of George Floyd, knocking Mr. Gugino to the ground and causing a head injury that immediately began to bleed and required hospitalization. Then a gang of officers callously walked past Mr. Gugino as he…
Today, in response to community uprising over Minneapolis police officers’ murder of George Floyd by restraint asphyxia, Donald Trump tweeted “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” Mr. Trump is promoting the use of deadly force in response to property crimes, which is blatantly unconstitutional. The United States Constitution prohibits…
This was George Floyd’s plea last night to Minneapolis Police Officers as they held him face down, with one knee on his torso and one knee on his neck. News reports show the officers held Mr. Floyd down for over eight minutes, keeping an officer’s knee pressing on his torso…