№00168

Ramon Lopez

Ramon Timothy Lopez, 28, died while in police custody in Phoenix, Arizona.

In August 2020, police were responding a man who was acting erratically at a parking lot. At the scene officers found Lopez. According to police he stole a drink and splashed it in an officer’s face. Officers handcuffed him, pinned him down and held him against hot pavement for 6 minutes. Officers carried him to a police car and shoved him inside facedown. Later they noticed he was nonresponsive. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The autopsy revealed “cardiac arrest in the setting of methamphetamine intoxication, dilated cardiomyopathy and physical restraint,” but the cause of death was “undetermined.” Attorneys representing Lopez’s family say his skin was burned after he was held on hot pavement, but the autopsy did not mention it.

In August 2021, Lopez’s family filed a federal lawsuit against Phoenix police department officers and the city claiming false arrest, excessive force, and wrongful death.

СМИ

MASS MEDIA ABOUT THE CASE:

“I’m hurt because my brother died for an unjust cause,” said Lopez’s brother David Gonzales. “He died way too soon.”
abc 15

“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.
azcentral

FILES

CASE STATUS:

The initiative group has requested the clarification from US President Joseph Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland. The initiative group believes it is important to fight against police brutality and, if necessary, will provide legal and financial assistance to the family of the victim.