Man wedged between fence and building died of asphyxia
Richard Linyard's mother stands with picture of her son during protests in Oakland.
Oakland, Calif. (KTVU) - A man who became stuck between a fence and a building while evading Oakland police died of asphyxia, the Alameda County coroner said today.
The cause of death for Richard Linyard, 23, was listed on a coroner's report as "asphyxia occurring in an individual wedged between a fence and a building."
Linyard's July 19 death had sparked controversy, with rumors on social media circulating that he had died as a result of force by officers. Oakland police have maintained that they had no contact between the time they initially began pursuing Linyard and when they found him wedged.
The incident happened when police pulled over Linyard — a musician who rapped under the name Afrikan Richie — on the 1300 block of 65th Avenue around 5:45 p.m.
A police body-camera video shows an officer talking to Linyard outside his car. Linyard then takes off running.
"Come back, or I’ll Tase you,” the officer yells at Linyard, threatening to use a stun gun on him.
The footage shows Linyard ignoring the orders and jumping over a fence in an industrial area and disappearing.
Another set of videos shows officers setting up a perimeter and walking along rooftops searching for Linyard. One of the officers looks down and sees Linyard wedged between two buildings in a space about 11 inches wide.
"He’s not moving. It looks like he’s out," an officer is heard saying.
Footage also shows officers going down to the ground, ripping down a cedar fence to get a closer look at the wedged suspect. "He looks out. He looks not pale but gray," one officer says.
The police requested medical help for Linyard a minute after locating him, and one officer is heard saying, “Can I get somebody thinner here?”
Once they pulled Linyard out, officers started to perform CPR on Linyard, who later died. Linyard had been wanted on a $10,000 warrant and had about a pound of marijuana in his car, police said.