'I Can't Breathe': Family Seeks Justice After Video Shows Man Forcibly Restrained Before Death

A California man who died in custody screamed "I can’t breathe" multiple times while he was forcibly restrained by several officers in March 2020. According to a video released Tuesday, the 38-year-old man died uttering the same words as George Floyd when he was murdered by a cop in Minneapolis two months later.

Edward Bronstein was stopped by California Highway Patrol (CHP) on March 31, 2020 for allegedly driving under influence. Before Bronstein died in custody, five officers forcibly held him down at a CHP garage in Altadena when he refused to give a blood sample for testing, NBC News reported.

The video shows Bronstein in handcuffs asking the officers why they need to draw his blood. The officers then tell him that it is a court order and if he fails to oblige, he would have to be restrained. By the time, Bronstein says "I’ll do it willingly," five officers hold him down and ask him to calm down while saying it is "too late."

As the officers continued the procedure with Bronstein restrained on the ground, he could be heard screaming about eight times, "I can't breathe," while pleading for help.

Bronstein eventually falls unconscious, and "when they finally flip him over, he’s lifeless," the family's attorney Michael Carrillo said.

"Not one officer took the action to pull the others off him. Pull him to the side, do something to give him air," Carrillo added.

According to a report from Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office, Bronstein's death was caused by "acute methamphetamine intoxication during restraint by law enforcement" in a manner "unknown."

Bronstein's family filed a federal lawsuit against the officers in December 2020, alleging that excessive force was used and accusing them of violating his civil rights. After the video was made public by court order, the family requested the Los Angeles County district attorney's office to file charges against the officers involved.

"My dad was a good person," Brianna Palomino, Bronstein’s daughter, said. "Nobody deserves to die this way. He was treated like trash like his life was not deserving."

"Whatever they did, I just want them to pay for what they did,” Bronstein’s father said, as reported by KTLA.

Meanwhile, the District Attorney's Office said Tuesday that the matter remains under review.