No Charges in Death of Man Who Told Cops He Couldn't Breathe

[IDemo]

Source: ABC News

A grand jury has declined to indict Louisiana police officers who held a man down, with officers at on top of him, while he said, "I can't breathe."

The Advertiser (http://bit.ly/1eK1DxA ) also quotes the FBI as saying it did not find anything the Justice Department's Civil Rights Unit could prosecute.

Thirty-year-old Robert Minjarez Jr. was declared dead five days after his arrest by Carencro and Scott police and Lafayette Parish sheriff's deputies in March 2014.

The coroner's report says the main cause of death was "compressional asphyxia due to face-down physical restraint by law enforcement officers."

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/charges-death-man-told-cops-breathe-31433305

[valerief]

1. Of course. Police brutality is rewarded, not punished, in America. nt

[IDemo]

2. Headline writers for these stories

should simply say "Take a wild guess how Grand Jury rules on still another custody death".

[BlueJazz]

3. I can understand the verdict being that the coroner's report was in favor of the police.

"The coroner's report says the main cause of death was "compressional asphyxia due to face-down physical restraint by law enforcement officers."

[LiberalElite]

18. Ah but it didn't say WHICH law enforcement officers

[Owl]

4. Damn!

Arrgghhh!

[Maraya1969]

5. This is the definition of a police state.

[A Simple Game]

6. What is wrong with these people? The Coroner's report by itself should have sent this to trial. n/t

[cstanleytech]

10. I believe its called prosecutorial discretion. Of course we could just do away with it

as well as juries and trials altogether and just let public opinion be the deciding factor.

[A Simple Game]

11. What the hell does public opinion have to do with it?

This was a grand jury decision, you know what that is don't you? I don't care what the prosecutor did or said, those jurors have minds of their own.

The coroner said the cops killed him, I wouldn't care what the prosecutor said, I would send it to trial and let a jury decide who was right.

It sounds to me like you are the one that doesn't want a jury to decide this and that your public opinion is all that counts.

[cstanleytech]

17. The only problem I have is with armchair prosecutors. nt

[A Simple Game]

19. Your only problem? I doubt it.

So how do you feel about the jury, yes this went in front of a jury, a grand jury, ignoring or not being provided the testimony from the one expert that is capable of stating cause of death? You don't think this case should have been sent to trial by the grand jury? Do you know that a grand jury is not a trial that they just decide if a case merits consideration by a trial? Do you know a DA can bypass the grand jury process?

[IDemo]

7. Coroner's report -

The Lafayette Parish coroner's report listed the cause of death as "compressional asphyxia due to face-down physical restraint by law enforcement officers with contribution of rhabdomyolysis and cocaine toxicity."

<>

For about five minutes, Minjarez is heard on audio from the dash cams screaming, "Help, help. Help me. Get off. You're going to kill me," the coroner's report states. He continues, "You're going to suffocate..." and "I can't breathe" three times. He cried and screamed, his voice becoming "increasingly muffled, hoarse and strained" while repeating "I can't breathe."

Around five minutes into the restraint, he groans and gurgles and an officer said "You got 265 pounds on your back, you're not going anywhere." He "is heard to make an agonal groan and no more sounds are heard from him," the report states.

[Catherine Vincent]

8. Oh my God

Those motherfvckers didn't give a damn about this man. I guess since there's no video of this man's murder, it won't get the attention of the mainstream media.

[Rossi]

13. Video here.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="

?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[IDemo]

15. Wrong

Unless Staten Island has become a Louisiana parish.

[sakabatou]

14. At the very least, this could/is manslaughter

[totodeinhere]

9. Of course this outcome is absolutely no surprise and is just one more of a long list

of examples of the expansion of the police state in this country.

[Lurks Often]

12. The ABC link is short on details, the local news link is far more informative

Local link: http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/2015/05/28/officers-indicted-restrained-mans-death/28075855/

I'm not saying I'm ok with the outcome, but after reading the local news story I have a better idea as to why the grand jury refused to bring charges against the officers. The bold is mine

"The Lafayette Parish coroner's report listed the cause of death as "compressional asphyxia due to face-down physical restraint by law enforcement officers with contribution of rhabdomyolysis and cocaine toxicity."

The coroner's report notes that the day before the fatal encounter, on March 1, 2014, police responded to a complaint that Minjarez was "reportedly agitated, naked and had destroyed a residence." He was treated at a hospital, tested positive for cocaine and benzodiazepine and had symptoms consistent with rhabdomyolysis. He left against medical advice before seeing the doctor.

We don't what was said in the grand jury or the FBI report, but reading between the lines and making an educated guess, the grand jury refused to bring charges because Minjarez was resisting arrest and his pre-existing medical issues were a significant contributor to his death

[Jefferson23]

21. How does one reconcile the fact that he told them he could not breathe? That is what

seems to me to be key, or should have been. Thanks for the additional info.

[Lurks Often]

22. Lots and lots of info missing

They didn't believe him? He continued to resist? Being under the influence of cocaine and other substances, according to the autopsy, prevented him from reacting in a rational manner?

Based on the local article, we know it the LA State police conducted the investigation, the FBI also conducted an investigation, that it went to a grand jury and that there was video of the incident.

What we don't know is what was presented to the grand jury and how hard the prosecutor tried to get a conviction, things we'll probably never know.

I doubt they intended to kill him, his death was a combination of the drugs in system, the pre-existing medical condition based on the medical report from the day before, the position he was in and the police on top of him trying to get him cuffed.

Based on my admittedly limited law enforcement training (Army military police, no garrison duty), sometimes things just don't go the way they are supposed. Getting cuffs on someone and getting them to stop resisting was hard enough in training, I can certainly imagine it's a lot harder in the real world. It definitely isn't like TV.

[Jefferson23]

23. Ok, yet that does not clear up for me that no one is charged since proving their intent

to kill him would not be necessary, but their negligence to heed his plea, he could not breathe
would be essential..or I believe it should have been part of the equation.

I am at a loss to understand that and I question the grand jury..are they giving too much
latitude to the police, which happens too often.

[Lurks Often]

24. Proving negligence would be difficult given his pre-existing medical issues

Keep in mind it is going to be viewed (by the grand jury) in the context of what the police KNEW at the time. They would have been unaware of the medical issues and upon recognizing he was having breathing difficulties, he was taken to the hospital.

Based on what the coroner's report in the article said, a basically healthy person without the pre-existing medical conditions he had and not under the influence of drugs probably would have lived. That is probably why the grand jury choose not indict.

[Jefferson23]

25. I admit I am suspicious. The officers had a warning, I can't breathe, what does it matter that

they did not know nor would be expected to know about the drugs? His welfare under those
circumstances appear meaningless..the arrest becomes inevitable no matter what...it's
disgusting.

[Lurks Often]

26. Unfortunately there is some what of a "the boy who cried wolf" syndrome going on

Cops are lied to on a regular basis and expect to be lied to, so a person resisting arrest saying "I can't breathe" is going to be cuffed first and then the police will address any apparent medical issues, which they did by calling an ambulance.

There is nothing reported that indicates the police failed to follow established procedure or used any more force then necessary to take him into custody. Combined with the coroner's report indicating that an average person without the medical issues would have survived the arrest, I can, based on what we do know, understand why the grand jury did not indict.

Arrests like this, absent the medical conditions, probably happen a couple of hundred times a day across the country, it's only when the arrest goes south and something bad happens do we ever hear about it.

On edit: The act of handcuffing a resisting person becomes far more difficult when that person is bigger or stronger or under the influence of drugs, alcohol or some form of mental health condition.

[Jefferson23]

27. I don't know. I hope the family can get an independent report on the condition of his body. n/t

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

29. I suspect cops hear accusations like "I can't breathe" and

"you're hurting me" all the time. Good cop, bad cop, evil cop....I'm sure they're used to it and don't take it seriously. It's just another way to protest an arrest.

Imo, they need better training re high risk detainees.

[Javaman]

16. there are 3 classes in this nation

Minorities and the poor live under fascism

The whites live under corporate serfdom

The rich enjoy all the freedoms of the constitution and then some.

[Jefferson23]

20. Selective war, what the hell else can you call this? K&R

[Vinca]

28. Apparently police academies must now teach a course called:

WHEN THEY SAY THEY CAN'T BREATHE THEY'RE DYING YOU IDIOT.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

30. It's part of resisting arrest!

"You're hurting me!"

"I can't breathe!"

"You're twisting my arm you fucker!"

These kinds of protests are normal, whether or not the person resisting arrest is hurt, which is why LE doesn't take these protests seriously.

Imo, they need more training so they can identify at risk persons. Very obese? On drugs? These are clearly identifiable, are they not?