California Man With Mental Health Issues Died After Police Kneeled On His Neck: Lawsuit

A 30-year-old California man suffering from a mental disorder died after cops fatally kneeled on the back of his neck for several minutes, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the City of Antioch by his family.

The lawsuit filed by the family of Angelo Quinto, a Filipino immigrant, claims that the police used the controversial illegal chokehold to subdue him while he was undergoing a mental health episode, John L. Burris, the lawyer for his family, said at a press conference on Feb. 18.

The family's attorney said in the death claim that Quinto had been "suffering from anxiety, depression, and paranoia for the previous few months" prior to the incident that took place on Dec. 23, 2020. His sister, Isabella Collins, called the police, fearing that Quinto would hurt their mother.

The lawsuit said that Quinto had been holding on to his mother, refusing to let go. Meanwhile, his mother was holding him close to her chest for a few minutes and he "already started to calm down."

Two officers from the Antioch Police Department arrived at their house and snatched Quinto from his mother's arms without trying to understand the sensitivity of the situation, the claim stated.

His family members said the officers had subdued him by placing a knee on the back of his neck, causing him to lose consciousness. He was taken to a hospital where he died three days later, Burris said at the press conference.

During the press conference, Burris showed a video in which Quinto could be seen lying on the ground unresponsive and bleeding from the mouth. The video later showed the officers attempting to revive him.

"Given what we know, a healthy young man in his mother's arms. They stuffed the life out of him," said Burris. The grieving family's attorneys say Quinto's death was caused by asphyxiation but the Antioch Police Department neither has released the police body camera footage nor the department has identified the officers involved in the incident, ABC 7 reported.

"This is wrongful death in the sense that their conduct caused the death of this person," Burris added. "This was a healthy person before, and now his life is gone."

The City of Antioch has 45 days to respond to the lawsuit.

Police brutality and racial discrimination have sparked national outrage in the U.S. following the death of George Floyd, the African-American man who passed away after Minneapolis Police Department officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for several minutes. Major cities in the U.S. saw days of protests calling for a ban on using neck restraints and chokeholds, prompting a Minneapolis judge to order the department to eliminate both methods of subduing the detainee.