CAROTID RESTRAINT AT CENTER OF WRONGFUL DEATH SUIT
The mother of a 29-yearold Escondido man who died after being restrained by sheriff’s deputies in downtown Vista a year ago has filed a lawsuit alleging excessive use of force and negligence.
The lawsuit, filed in San Diego federal court on Friday, accuses a deputy of unnecessarily using a carotid restraint on Joseph Jimenez on the night of Feb. 19, 2020, and says another deputy and paramedics continued to further restrain him on the way to the hospital while failing to provide proper medical treatment. San Diego County and the city of Vista are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The complaint was filed by Tina Pogue of Riverside County, who is asking for unspecified damages in the death of her son.
The case reignites debate over use of the carotid restraint, a controversial hold that all local law enforcement agencies in the county — including the Sheriff ’s Department — have banned following the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. When using a carotid hold, officers use an arm to put pressure on the sides of a person’s neck to force brief unconsciousness. However, it has been known to be used incorrectly and can lead to injury or death.
The Medical Examiner’s Office determined the carotid restraint was not a factor in Jimenez’s death, which was caused by methamphetamine intoxication that brought on a heart attack that cut off the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
A sheriff’s spokesman said the agency does not comment on pending litigation and referred questions to County Counsel on Wednesday. A county spokesman did not respond to an email inquiry from the Union-Tribune.
Vista City Attorney Darold Pieper said the city had not yet been served with the lawsuit and referred inquiries to the Sheriff ’s Department.
According to the death investigation, bystanders called 911 after seeing Jimenez — presumably under the influence of drugs — acting erratically in the street, posing a danger to himself and others.
Deputy Jason Hayek arrived and ordered Jimenez to lie face down in order to restrain him. Jimenez was not aggressive or combative, but he resisted being handcuffed while on the ground, according to the investigation.
Hayek, believing Jimenez was suffering from drug-induced excited delirium, then used the carotid restraint to gain compliance, rendering Jimenez unconscious. Once handcuffed, Jimenez came to a few seconds later but then started kicking, Hayek told investigators. Another deputy who arrived on scene secured a cord cuff restraint around Jimenez’s ankles.
Hayek’s body-worn camera showed Jimenez at that point is “awake, breathing and his eyes are open as he rocks back and forth, clenching his jaw in a chewing motion,” according to a summary of the investigation.
However, the lawsuit claims that Jimenez did not regain consciousness after the carotid restraint.
Jimenez was strapped onto a gurney — face down because of his hands being cuffed behind his back — and a paramedic placed over his head a “spit sock,” or a mesh-like hood to prevent him from spitting at and biting the first responders, according to the lawsuit and investigation.
“Decedent could not speak and could not move,” the lawsuit states. “Decedent was unable to breathe and he slowly, painfully, suffocated as they transported him to the hospital. By the time they arrived, Decedent was not breathing.”
Jimenez was taken off life support a few days later and died.
The lawsuit alleges the incident was mishandled from the beginning, accusing the deputies of failure to use de-escalation techniques, improper use of the carotid restraint, unnecessary application of extreme pressure to Jimenez’s body and failure to intervene with life-saving efforts.
“He suffered unjustifiable and substantial physical pain and mental suffering before his death,” the lawsuit states.
Hayek, who had been on the force for five years, told investigators that he’d performed the carotid restraint multiple times during his career, had received extensive training on it, and believed that he’d properly administered it in a way as not to injure Jimenez.
Jimenez’s manner of death was determined to be accidental, and in August the District Attorney’s Office told Sheriff Bill Gore that Hayek did not bear criminal liability and would not be charged.