Video Of Man Killed By Train After Police Tackle Released By Family

The family of a man, who was killed by a train at Long Beach, California, a year ago, released a metro security video Wednesday, which showed the man being tackled by a police personnel on the platform. The man's mother claimed that the video showed an officer throwing her son on to the tracks before the train ran over him.

The video, captured by security cameras aboard a Blue Line train, shows the struggle between 23-year-old Cesar Rodriguez and a Long Beach police officer on a Metro Rail platform.

The incident happened on Aug 29, 2017. The family accused the officer of throwing Rodriguez into the path of the oncoming train, which ultimately took his life. Rodriguez’s sister, Evelia Granados, told CBS Los Angeles that it took months to acquire the video footage.

“When we seen that video it was like a lot of the questions that we had as a family we were able to get them answered,” Granados said.

Long Beach Police Department said Rodriguez fell back onto the tracks accidentally following the scuffle with the officer.

The video was released by the family at a vigil held for Rodriguez on Wednesday to mark the one year anniversary of his death at the Wardlow Station on the Metro Blue Line.

Rodriguez’s family said he was trapped between the train and platform for 20 minutes. Firefighters used airbags to free him. Rodriguez was alert when he was rushed to a local hospital, but died due to his injuries later.

“He has family. He is able to go back to his family,” Granados said of the police officer in the video. “My brother didn’t make it back home.”

According to the police, Rodriguez was stopped on suspicion of not paying his fare for the train. When the police found drugs on him, he tried to run away from the officers. The scuffle between Rodriguez and the officer happened as a consequence, they said.

“As a train was inbound to the station, a person involved in the police activity left a portion of their body exposed over the edge of the platform and was struck by the incoming train,” Long Beach police Sgt. James Richardson said at the time, Press Telegram reported.

The police later said they were conducting “enforcement activities” when the incident happened. The attorney for Rodriguez’s family said the officer should not have tackled him when he was standing so close to the tracks.

“It’s an example of just a complete disregard of safety,” the attorney said.

The officer is still employed with the Long Beach Police Department. The department refused to provide the name of the officer or any further information on the issue due to an impending lawsuit.