OAKLAND — Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price on Thursday announced criminal charges against three police officers involved in the 2021 death of Mario Gonzalez, who stopped breathing while being pinned to the ground by multiple officers.
In a press release, Price said the Alameda Police Department officers — Eric McKinley, James Fisher and Cameron Leahy — were being charged with involuntary manslaughter in the incident, which drew comparisons to the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin
Her announcement, which comes exactly three years to the day after Gonzalez’s death, marks a reversal from the conclusions of her predecessor, Nancy O’Malley, who said two years ago that the officers involved in Gonzalez’s death should face criminal charges.
“The officers’ decision to detain and arrest Mr. Gonzalez, and their subsequent use of force was objectively reasonable considering the agency policies, the totality of the circumstances, and the officers’ stated rationale,” according to a 38-page critical incident team report made public in April 2022.
Gonzalez’s died April 19, 2021, in an Alameda neighborhood near Scout Park after being contacted by officers, who suspected he had violated a municipal code banning open containers of alcohol in public. Officers tackled Gonzalez when he resisted being handcuffed, according to police video, and pinned him to the ground for several minutes as he screamed and whimpered before falling unconscious.
After Gonzalez’s death, police noted that a bottle of Canadian Mist whiskey in his possession had a security cap on it and opened a shoplifting investigation. The officers then travelled to at least five local stores on the day Gonzalez died in an attempt to find out whether Gonzalez stole four alcohol bottles that were found in his possession after the fatal struggle.
The Alameda County coroner’s office later ruled that Gonzalez’s death was a homicide, citing the “stress of altercation and restraint” but also noting the “toxic effects of methamphetamine,” “morbid obesity” and “alcoholism” as contributing factors.
Fisher, Leahy and McKinely were later placed on paid administrative leave. Leahy and McKinely returned “into the workforce” in May 2022, a city spokeswoman said. Fisher left the department in January 2023 “after finding employment with another agency.”
The city of Alameda’s administrative investigation didn’t find any sustained violations among the officers who responded to the call about Gonzalez. Still, city leaders say they have taken several steps in the last couple of years to improve the department, including hiring a civilian police auditor.
Check back for updates to this developing story.