Officers followed policy in Taser death, police say

They will not face any departmental discipline in the death of 55-year-old Ramzi Saad

Redwood City police have determined that four officers involved in a deadly confrontation with a mentally ill man last August did not violate any department policies in the fatal arrest.

The result of the internal investigation means the officers — whom San Mateo County District Attorney Steven Wagstaffe cleared of any criminal wrongdoing last fall — also will not face any departmental discipline for the Aug. 13 death of 55-year-old Ramzi Saad.

Authorities said Officer Oscar Poveda shocked Saad with a Taser, which an autopsy found was one of the factors that contributed to his death, after Saad was combative and tried to punch Poveda. Three other officers, Daniel Di Bona, Brian Simmons and Matthew Cydzik, later pinned Saad to the ground to subdue him.

Saad was one of three people who died after being shocked with Tasers during arrests in San Mateo County in 2018 — deaths that prompted calls from local activists for law enforcement to stop using the weapon.

But the Redwood City Police Department’s review, like Wagstaffe’s inquiry, found the officers’ actions were justified given Saad’s aggression toward them, Deputy Police Chief Gary Kirby said Tuesday.

“We concluded that the actions of the officers were within the department policies for the use of force,” Kirby said.

The department’s decision was first reported by independent journalist Scott Morris.

Officers responded to the home Saad shared with his mother after a neighbor called 911 to report he had pushed his mother, causing her to fall and hit her head, according to a report on the incident that Wagstaffe released in November. Saad had a history of mental illness, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; his mother later told officers Saad was in a “bad mood” and had not been taking his medication.

Poveda, who was the first officer to arrive at the home on the 500 block of Lanyard Drive,

had been trained on strategies for defusing encounters with mentally ill people. He used those tactics when he encountered Saad, Kirby said. They appeared to work at first, Kirby said, until Saad suddenly tried to attack Poveda, prompting him to fire the Taser.

“He tried to use his (crisis intervention training) experience,” Kirby said, but “it was a 180-degree change and there was an immediate assault on the officer.”

The shock from the Taser sent Saad to the ground, but he got back up and grabbed a brick, authorities said. Poveda tried to deploy his Taser again, but the weapon instead shocked the officer, causing him to drop it.

Poveda eventually handcuffed Saad after a struggle, but he continued to resist as the other officers arrived, police said. While Saad was on the ground, Di Bona, Simmons and Cydzik used their body weight to control his legs, midsection and upper back until he stopped resisting.

Saad at first appeared to be breathing normally but later became unresponsive and was pronounced dead at a hospital. An autopsy found he died as a result of “cardiac arrest occurring during physical exertion, physical restraint and tasering.”