The Antioch police on Tuesday, March 2 said no illegal "knee-on-neck" chokeholds were used in the case of Angelo Quinto, the 30-year-old Filipino-American who died after an officer knelt on his neck for almost five minutes.
The family of Quinto filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the local police department on February 18.
"At one point during the handcuffing, an officer did briefly, for a few seconds, have a knee across a portion of Angelo's shoulder blade," said Antioch Police Chief Tammany Brooks in a report by 6ABC News.
He added that it was an approved technique taught at California police academies.
"At no point did any officer use a knee or any other body part to gain leverage or apply pressure to Angelo's head, neck or throat, which is outside of our policy and training," Brooks said.
Quinto, a Navy veteran who was born in the Philippines, was suffering from a mental health crisis on the night of December 23, 2020, prompting his sister to call 911 for help.
A cellphone video shot presented by the family’s attorney showed one of the responding officers who pinned and subdued Quinto with a knee at the back of his neck for nearly five minutes, while another officer held him by the legs.
Quinto pleaded for his life twice to the officers. “Please don’t kill me…Please don’t kill me…” He did not regain consciousness and was taken by an ambulance. Three days later, Quinto died at Sutter Delta Medical Center.
His family attorney had earlier claimed that an independent autopsy shows that Quinto died of asphyxiation but Brooks said multiple pathologists have found no evidence of strangulation or crushed airways.
Last May, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, also died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes that was captured on video. His death led to nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism.
Read more: Fil-Am family in California files wrongful death lawsuit vs local police, Signature campaign circulates online calling for justice for Fil-Am in California slain ala ‘George Floyd’