Three Alameda Police Department officers made their first court appearance Friday after being charged in the 2021 death of Mario Gonzalez, who stopped breathing while struggling beneath the weight of officers who had piled on his back.
Eric McKinley, James Fisher and Cameron Leahy said little in their first court appearance since being charged in April with involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 incident. All of them were allowed, at the request of the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, to remain out of custody on their own recognizance while awaiting their next court hearing on Oct. 11, when they are expected to enter a plea.
The men appeared in gray suits and blue ties while a phalanx of law enforcement officers from Alameda and other local jurisdictions sat nearby in the gallery. On the other side of the courtroom, Gonzalez’s mother, brother and several other relatives looked on in silence.
Outside the courthouse, an attorney for Fisher lambasted the district attorney’s office’s handling of the case, framing it as a bid by District Attorney Pamela Price to shore up support among voters while facing a recall effort during the upcoming November election.
“Everyone should see this case by what it is, and it is a Hail Mary by Ms. Price to salvage her career,” said the attorney, Julia Fox. “Traditionally, the elected DA is acknowledged as ‘The Honorable DA.’ And I think that her actions — certainly in this case — are anything but.”
Earlier, several supporters of Gonzalez’s family also criticized Price’s office — this time, for not pursuing more serious charges against the officers who tried arresting Gonzalez more than three years ago.
“The charges are manslaughter — they should be murder,” said Amanda Majail-Blanco, an organizer for the nonprofit Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, also known as CURYJ.
A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office said the prosecutors who appeared in court Friday would not make a statement or answer questions.
The decision by District Attorney Pamela Price’s office to charge the men in April marked a stunning twist in a case that drew comparisons to the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. And it signaled a departure from the conclusions of Price’s predecessor, Nancy O’Malley, who initially cleared officers of any criminal wrongdoing by suggesting their actions were “objectively reasonable.”
Gonzalez died April 19, 2021, in an Alameda neighborhood near Park Street and Otis Drive after being contacted by officers who suspected he had violated a municipal code banning open containers of alcohol in public. Officers tackled Gonzalez when he resisted being handcuffed, according to police video, and pinned him to the ground for several minutes as he screamed and whimpered before falling unconscious.
After Gonzalez’s death, police noted that a bottle of Canadian Mist whiskey in his possession had a security cap on it and opened a shoplifting investigation. The officers then traveled to at least five local stores to find out whether Gonzalez stole four liquor bottles that were found in his possession after the fatal struggle.
Related Articles
East Bay teen who allegedly plotted terrorist attack is charged with possessing assault rifle
Woman accused of arranging Oakland man’s murder gets 9 years; the actual killer has never been found
Two men arrested on suspicion of annoying or molesting kids at Berkeley parks
More charges filed against FCI Dublin women’s prison guard accused of sexually assaulting inmates
Arrest made in Berkeley’s second homicide of 2024
The Alameda County Coroner’s Office later ruled — in a peer-reviewed autopsy report — that Gonzalez’s death was a homicide, citing the “stress of altercation and restraint” but also noting the “toxic effects of methamphetamine,” “morbid obesity” and “alcoholism” as contributing factors. The city of Alameda’s administrative investigation also didn’t find any sustained violations against the officers.
Still, an independent autopsy requested by Gonzalez’s family suggested the primary cause of death was “restraint asphyxiation.” It also found that methamphetamine levels in his body were too low to contribute to his death.
Fisher, Leahy and McKinley were all placed on leave after Gonzalez’s death. Leahy and McKinley both returned from leave in May 2022 and remained with the department in April. Fisher left the department in January 2023 to take a job as a deputy with the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office.
The city of Alameda later agreed to pay nearly $11.4 million to settle lawsuits by Gonzalez’s family, including $11 million to his son and another $350,000 to his mother.
+ There are no comments
Add yours