Post by WaTcHeR on Feb 7, 2007 13:24:38 GMT -5
LOS ANGELES – Authorities are investigating the death of a 31-year-old man who collapsed at a police station following his arrest. An attorney for the suspect's family alleges the man died because police hit and kicked him.
Officials acknowledged Tuesday that officers struck Mauricio Cornejo with a baton, but said it happened only after he ignored orders to stop walking away and started fighting with them.
Cornejo died Saturday in his cell at Hollenbeck police station after he was apprehended in a foot chase at the Ramona Gardens housing project.
Three witnesses – two at the housing project and one at the holding cell – said officers appeared to mistreat Cornejo. A lawyer for Cornejo's family said he believed the death was due to “excessive use of force.”
Responding to questions about the arrest from family and project residents, police released a more detailed narrative of the arrest on Tuesday, as many community members gathered outside a recreation center to comfort Cornejo's relatives and hold a car wash to raise money for his funeral.
Cornejo, who police described as a gang member, was stopped for a broken tail light around 6:40 p.m. Saturday. He was initially cooperative, police said, then walked away. One officer ran after him as another followed in a patrol car.
Police say Cornejo tossed a .45-caliber handgun, then “turned and confronted” the officer running after him.
The officer ordered Cornejo to stop, and when he didn't, the officer pulled out an expandable baton and struck him in the arm and leg, said police Lt. Paul Vernon.
Cornejo seemed “impervious” to the blows, Vernon said, and walked away from the officer despite being ordered to stop.
The officer then struck Cornejo again while another officer called for help. Several other officers then surrounded Cornejo on a footbridge near the housing project, according to Vernon.
Police said that even when handcuffed, Cornejo continued to put up a fight.
Two women referred to the Los Angeles Times by Luis Carillo, a lawyer for Cornejo's family, said they witnessed the arrest, and it appeared police mistreated Cornejo.
Norma Picasso, 32, described the arrest as “just too violent.”
“They hit him in the parking lot ... and then they all started hitting him when he was already on the floor. He was crying 'Help!'” she said.
Yolanda Puente said she saw police kick Cornejo in the head and ribs and hit him with batons. She said she watched the arrest from a barbecue party about 20 feet away.
Carillo said he believed the death was due to an “excessive use of force.”
Cornejo was pronounced dead in his holding cell at 7:30 p.m. Vernon said officers noticed he was having trouble breathing and called paramedics. An autopsy was completed Tuesday but no cause of death had been determined.
A woman who said she was in an adjacent cell told the Los Angeles Times she saw Cornejo die through the window in the cell door.
The woman, who asked the newspaper not to use her name for fear of retribution, said she saw officers drag Cornejo down the hallway. She said he was handcuffed and officers kick him at least twice.
The woman said she was taken to the station after officers got into a scuffle with her daughter, a pregnant 15-year-old who suffers from a mood disorder.
Police said they could not determine whether either the mother or daughter was at the station Saturday.
Cornejo's sister, Angela, has said her brother was in good health, and when she last talked to him Wednesday, he spoke of trying to get a job.
Angela Cornejo said her brother had been in and out of trouble with the law for years, and may have been on parole. She also said Cornejo had suffered a serious head injury in a car accident 10 years ago. He had amnesia for two weeks before he recovered his memory, she said.
www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20070207-0134-ca-custodydeath.html
Officials acknowledged Tuesday that officers struck Mauricio Cornejo with a baton, but said it happened only after he ignored orders to stop walking away and started fighting with them.
Cornejo died Saturday in his cell at Hollenbeck police station after he was apprehended in a foot chase at the Ramona Gardens housing project.
Three witnesses – two at the housing project and one at the holding cell – said officers appeared to mistreat Cornejo. A lawyer for Cornejo's family said he believed the death was due to “excessive use of force.”
Responding to questions about the arrest from family and project residents, police released a more detailed narrative of the arrest on Tuesday, as many community members gathered outside a recreation center to comfort Cornejo's relatives and hold a car wash to raise money for his funeral.
Cornejo, who police described as a gang member, was stopped for a broken tail light around 6:40 p.m. Saturday. He was initially cooperative, police said, then walked away. One officer ran after him as another followed in a patrol car.
Police say Cornejo tossed a .45-caliber handgun, then “turned and confronted” the officer running after him.
The officer ordered Cornejo to stop, and when he didn't, the officer pulled out an expandable baton and struck him in the arm and leg, said police Lt. Paul Vernon.
Cornejo seemed “impervious” to the blows, Vernon said, and walked away from the officer despite being ordered to stop.
The officer then struck Cornejo again while another officer called for help. Several other officers then surrounded Cornejo on a footbridge near the housing project, according to Vernon.
Police said that even when handcuffed, Cornejo continued to put up a fight.
Two women referred to the Los Angeles Times by Luis Carillo, a lawyer for Cornejo's family, said they witnessed the arrest, and it appeared police mistreated Cornejo.
Norma Picasso, 32, described the arrest as “just too violent.”
“They hit him in the parking lot ... and then they all started hitting him when he was already on the floor. He was crying 'Help!'” she said.
Yolanda Puente said she saw police kick Cornejo in the head and ribs and hit him with batons. She said she watched the arrest from a barbecue party about 20 feet away.
Carillo said he believed the death was due to an “excessive use of force.”
Cornejo was pronounced dead in his holding cell at 7:30 p.m. Vernon said officers noticed he was having trouble breathing and called paramedics. An autopsy was completed Tuesday but no cause of death had been determined.
A woman who said she was in an adjacent cell told the Los Angeles Times she saw Cornejo die through the window in the cell door.
The woman, who asked the newspaper not to use her name for fear of retribution, said she saw officers drag Cornejo down the hallway. She said he was handcuffed and officers kick him at least twice.
The woman said she was taken to the station after officers got into a scuffle with her daughter, a pregnant 15-year-old who suffers from a mood disorder.
Police said they could not determine whether either the mother or daughter was at the station Saturday.
Cornejo's sister, Angela, has said her brother was in good health, and when she last talked to him Wednesday, he spoke of trying to get a job.
Angela Cornejo said her brother had been in and out of trouble with the law for years, and may have been on parole. She also said Cornejo had suffered a serious head injury in a car accident 10 years ago. He had amnesia for two weeks before he recovered his memory, she said.
www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20070207-0134-ca-custodydeath.html