Oakland pays $450K to settle case over in-custody police death
(KTVU) - Here's the Rap Sheet for Jan. 21, 2016:
SETTLEMENT IN OAKLAND POLICE IN-CUSTODY DEATH: The city of Oakland has agreed to pay $450,000 to settle a federal wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of a man who collapsed while struggling with Oakland police.
Hernan Jaramillo, 51, became unresponsive after officers tried to put him into a police car for a psychiatric evaluation outside his home on the 2300 block of East 21st Street on July 8, 2013.
The Alameda County coroner concluded that Jaramillo died of multiple drug intoxication, with "physical exertion" as a contributing factor.
But his family hired an independent forensic pathologist who disagreed with that conclusion, said family attorney John Burris.
"The situation is very hurtful for the family," Burris said today. "He was loved within the family and, at the end of the day, it's a tragic loss. No amount of money can compensate for the amount of pain they feel."
Burris filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco alleging that Jaramillo's death was the result of an "onslaught of horrendous abuse of police power." the complaint was filed on behalf of Jaramillo's sister Ana Biocini and other siblings.
On Tuesday night, the Oakland City Council agreed to a $450,000 payout without admitting any wrongdoing.
Biocini had called police to the home she shared with Jaramillo after hearing him "making a great deal of noise for reasons unknown" in his bedroom, the suit said. She said she feared that he was being assaulted by an intruder.
Jaramillo began struggling with officers as they tried to put him into a car, police have said. Biocini said she had pleaded with the officers to stop, "insisting that her brother was not the perceived intruder," the suit said.
Officers threw Jaramillo to the ground, the suit said. One officer "pressed his knee into Mr. Jaramillo's back while other officers used their weight to hold him down. Mr. Jaramillo screamed out for help and strained to breathe under the collective weight of the four or five defendant officers."
In a statement after the incident, police officials said, "During the ensuing struggle, the subject and the involved officers went to the ground. The subject then became unresponsive."
Police performed CPR while waiting for paramedics. Jaramillo died at Highland Hospital in Oakland.
SANTA ROSA BURGLARY SUSPECTS NABBED: Police nabbed two burglary suspects in Santa Rosa early today after a keen-eyed resident saw them loading items from his neighbor's house -- all while the homeowners were inside and unaware of what was happening, authorities said.
The incident began when a resident of Vintage Circle called police to report two men he didn't recognize carrying items from the victim's house into a BMW.
An officer arrived and confronted the men as they were walking out the front door. The two ran back inside and slammed the door shut, prompting more officers to come to the scene to assist.
Police called for everyone inside to come out. The homeowners then walked out, oblivious to what was happening, police said.
Officers found stolen property in the backyard of the home and a broken fence leading to an adjacent yard. A police K-9, Hoss, found one of the suspects, Rogelio Martinez-Vasquez, 21, of Santa Rosa hiding under a neck and bit him, police said.
Officers also found a loaded .45-caliber handgun in the yard where Martinez-Vasquez was hiding, authorities said.
Police then spotted the second suspect, Jose Neri-Martinez, 30, of Santa Rosa running from the crime scene and took him into custody, authorities said. Officers later determined that the handgun belonged to him, police said.
Both were arrested on suspicion of burglary and weapons violations. Martinez-Vasquez was also booked on a parole violation.
CHP NABS SUSPECTS IN TOLL PLAZA HOLDUPS: Two suspects have been arrested on suspicion of pulling of a series of armed robberies throughout the Bay Area, including at several bridge toll plazas, authorities said today.
Marco Villagomez, 21, of Vallejo and a 17-year-old boy were taken into custody Monday by CHP officers with the help of Vallejo and Daly City police.
Authorities seized two assault rifles, three handguns and several fake guns while serving search warrants in the investigation, the CHP said.
SHOPLIFTERS ARMED WITH TASER: A shoplifter stole beer from a 7-Eleven store in Palo Alto and had some backup when clerks gave chase: another suspect brandished a Taser weapon at them, police say.
It all began about 11:20 p.m. Wednesday when an employee on a break outside the store at 708 Colorado Ave. saw a car with four people inside pull into the parking lot.
Two of the passengers got out, and one of them struck up a conversation with the employee outside. The other went inside and then quickly ran out with two cases of beer worth $40.
Two other employees, a man and a woman in their 50s, were hot on his tail. They were then joined by the clerk who was on a break.
That's when the suspect who remained outside brandished a Taser shock weapon at them and caused the device to "arc," police said.
The employees aborted their chase, and the shoplifters drove off, east on Colorado Avenue.
The assailant with the Taser was a Latino man in his 20s, about 6 feet tall with a thin build. He had short black hair, was clean-shaven, and was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants.
Police released a surveillance photo of the man who stole the beer. He is a Latino man in his 20s, about 5 feet 5 inches tall with a medium build. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, khaki shorts, and black tennis shoes.
Anyone with information is asked to call Palo Alto police at (650) 329-2413.
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