Witness video shows schizophrenic man, 28, pinned on hot street by cops minutes before he became unresponsive and died
VIDEO shows police pinning a man – who had schizophrenia – on a hot street just minutes before he became unresponsive and died.
The death of 28-year-old Ramon Timothy Lopez on Tuesday is now being investigated, The Associated Press reported.
Video taken by a witness shows a man being pinned to the ground outside an Arizona strip mall on a 100-degree day.
Five officers with the Phoenix Police Department surround the man as he lay on the asphalt – which due to the heat, may have been as hot as 150 degrees, KNXV-TV reported.
It appears one officer may have his knee in the man’s back, as another holds down his legs and a third appears to be restraining his upper body, video shows.
The female witness – who took the video and requested not to be named – told KNXV she felt the officer “was using a lot of force to slam his body into the ground.
She added it seemed like the man “was still struggling” but it appeared “he just didn’t want his face smashed on the asphalt.”
“It was super hot,” she added.
Police said Lopez’ breathing was never affected.
“Officers did not place their knee(s) on Ramon’s neck and at no time was his airway obstructed,” Sgt. Mercedes Fortune told KNXV.
Fortune told the Associated Press that cops responded to reports of a man that was looking into cars and making offensive gestures on Tuesday around 10:20am.
The suspect ran across traffic and into a convenience store, and threw beverages at a cop responding to the incident, Fortune said.
Fortune told KNXV that the lone officer grabbed Ramon and the two “fell onto the hot asphalt.”
The officer got Ramon into custody, and two other officers arrived, the AP reported.
Police said that the man attempted to bite and kick the officers.
The witness, however, said she feels that officers were aggressive.
“He did have his left knee in the midst of his back and shoulders,” the witness said of one of the officers.
Police told AP they used a leg restraint to keep the man from kicking.
The man was later placed into the back of a police car, Fortune told the AP.
The car was moved from the street into a parking lot – and when officers opened the door to speak with the man – later identified as Lopez – he was found unresponsive.
Cops took him out of the car and gave him water, and he was rushed to the hospital.
Lopez was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The witness told KNXV she spoke with a sergeant about the incident after she reported her concerns.
After reviewing bodycam footage, witness said the sergeant told her he “didn’t see anything that I was reporting.”
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Police said KNXV they will release bodycam footage next week.
Lopez’ autopsy results were pending as of Friday morning, online records from the Maricopa County Medical Office showed.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.