Pittsburg police sued in wrongful death case
The family of a 32year-old East Bay man who died in a scuffle with officers last year is suing the city of Pittsburg and its police department for wrongful death.
Humberto Martinez died on July 26, 2016, after police chased him into a Pittsburg home and shocked him with an electric stun gun as he resisted arrest, officials said.
Attorneys for Martinez’s family said the officers used reckless tactics during the altercation, including an improper carotid hold, and other blows to the suspect, resulting in his death, according to the federal civil rights lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The lawsuit comes on the one-year anniversary of Martinez’s death.
Officers said they tried to pull Martinez over around 2:30 the morning of his death, but he drove away and ran into a home on the 4200 block of Hillview Drive.
Martinez had a lengthy criminal history, involving assault and weapons and drug charges, police said. He previously lived at the home and officials said he knew the people living there.
Martinez “was actively fighting with police officers” on the floor of the home’s kitchen, prompting the officers to use a stun gun, Pittsburg police Capt. Ron Raman said shortly after the episode.
The stun gun, though, did not have an effect, and several more officers came to the scene to help subdue Martinez, police said.
Once police handcuffed Martinez, they realized he had become unresponsive. The officers removed the handcuffs, started CPR and used an automatic external defibrillator to revive the man, Raman said. Martinez died at a nearby hospital an hour later.
Attorneys for Martinez’s family, though, said the officers’ use of force was “totally unnecessary and unreasonable under the circumstances” and was done without “a legitimate law enforcement purpose.”
The family is suing for damages to cover costs associated with Martinez’s death.