Family files claim over death in police custody
The family of Ramon Timothy Lopez, who died last fall while in Phoenix police custody, has filed a $5 million notice of claim against the City of Phoenix and its police department alleging wrongful death.
Lopez died on Aug. 4 after police held him against hot asphalt for nearly six minutes while taking him into custody.
Officers that day were called to the shopping center near 51st Avenue and Indian School Road because someone reported the 28-year-old was acting erratically while walking around the parking lot. Police later claimed Lopez stole a drink from a store in the area.
“Ramon lost his life because he allegedly shoplifted a $1.99 Lipton Iced Tea,” said the notice of claim filed earlier this year by Robbins and Curtin, PLLC, a Phoenix law firm representing Lopez’s minor children. The claim also listed the attorneys representing Lopez’s mother Laura Gonzalez, which include Ben Crump, leader of the legal team representing George Floyd’s family.
Jesse Showalter of Robbins and Curtin, PLLC told The Arizona Republic the city had not responded to the notice of claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, as of April 15. Under Arizona law, the family has a year after his death to file a lawsuit.
“Ramon’s family has experienced considerable grief and emotional distress since Ramon’s untimely and tragic death,” the claim said. “Ramon’s loss has been emotionally devastating to them.”
Autopsy reveals dual causes of death
Lopez’s autopsy was conducted by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office on Aug. 6 along with a toxicology screen, according to reports from the office.
His cause of death was listed as “cardiac arrest in the setting of methamphetamine intoxication, dilated cardiomyopathy and physical restraint,” the autopsy report said.
Furthermore, it indicated Lopez’s “injury” occurred because of drug use and “physical restraint with prone positioning,” noting Lopez “struggled during the restraint process.”
Phoenix police in an incident report said after officers put Lopez in handcuffs and leg restraints, they laid him on his stomach across the backseat of a patrol car. Within a couple of minutes, he had a “medical event” and was taken to a hospital, where he died, according to the autopsy report.
Lopez’s toxicology screen revealed he had amphetamine in his system as well as a high level of methamphetamine, above what is often associated with “violent and irrational behavior” as well as “restlessness, confusion, hallucinations, circulatory collapse and convulsions.”
The autopsy noted Lopez used methamphetamine chronically, including on the day he died.
“Persons under the influence of stimulants may die suddenly, particularly following a period of intense physical activity, agitation or combativeness,” the report said.
The office deemed Lopez’s manner of death undetermined.
In photos, surveillance and body-worn camera footage reviewed by The Republic last year, Lopez appeared to sustain burns after being held against the hot pavement. While the autopsy report does not specifically reference burns, it indicated Lopez had cuts and bruises throughout his body.
Claim alleges police knew restraint’s risks
For years experts and families of people who died in law enforcement custody have criticized the use of prone restraint, or restraining people while holding them on their stomach. Studies have associated it with positional asphyxia, when the body’s position prevents adequate oxygen intake, leading to unconsciousness, disturbed heart rhythm, heart attack or death.
The family’s attorneys in the notice of claim allege Phoenix police knew the risks associated with how they restrained Lopez, noting the police department’s history of incustody deaths in a similar fashion.
They cited four examples, including the 2014 death of Edgardo Figueroa who, according to his family’s attorneys, was handcuffed and laid face down on the floor of a patrol car. Phoenix police at the time said he was initially seated in the car but slid down to the floorboard on his side. Figueroa’s family received a $450,000 payout from the city in 2019.
“Despite this history and its knowledge of the risks, the City continues to train its officers to handcuff and restrain subjects and place them face-down on the ground even though it knows that doing so creates a significant risk of injury and death,” the claim said.
“The City also continues to permit its officers to leave subdued and restrained subjects in the hot Arizona sun, even though this creates a significant risk of injury and death, and even though there is no legitimate police benefit in doing so,” it continued.