California police struck mentally ill man with fists before he died at hospital, videos show

Two Riverside police officers slugged a reportedly mentally ill man who a video shows was resisting being handcuffed, but another video shows he was alert and able to follow paramedics’ instructions before he died a couple of hours later on June 20.

The Riverside County Coroner’s Office said Monday, July 28, that it has not determined a cause of death for 27-year-old Peter Villalobos of Riverside.

Villalobos’ mother, Olivia Villalobos, blamed the officers for his son’s death and called for them to be fired.

“He was my life,” she said. “He was my everything. … I want justice.”

Riverside police previously had said they used force against Villalobos but did not describe it.

The video, edited by the Riverside Police Department and released Friday, was compiled from the two officers’ body-worn cameras and surveillance footage from businesses in the shopping center at the corner of Indiana Avenue and Madison Street.

The department’s publicly released videos of shootings by its officers, narrated by Chief Larry Gonzalez, typically run five to nine minutes. But the Villalobos video lasts 45 minutes. It begins with a 911 call from a McDonald’s manager and takes the viewer through an officer’s attempt to coax Villalobos out of a bathroom stall, two officers’ efforts to question and then handcuff Villalobos, the resulting fight, and finally a portion of the ambulance ride to Riverside Community Hospital. and his treatment there.

“We wanted to make sure we captured the patience our officers used to try to bring this to a peaceful resolution, and unfortunately, it did not (end peacefully),” Gonzalez said in an interview Monday.

Because this is considered an in-custody death, the Riverside County Force Investigations Detail, which includes investigators from the Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s Office, is investigating the confrontation. The Police Department is investigating whether the tactics complied with its policies. And Riverside’s Community Police Review Commission will investigate and possibly make nonbinding recommendations to the department.

The officers, who have not been publicly identified, were placed on paid administrative leave.

Olivia Villalobos, 56, said she lived with her son near Ramona High, which Peter attended. She said her son had schizophrenia but “weaned” himself off medication in the past year. He was not violent, but at his worst could be fidgety, loud and hallucinate, she said. He was placed on mental health holds a couple of times, she said.

Her son liked to fish.

“He would sit there all day. It’s quiet, relaxing,” Olivia Villalobos said.

Peter was known to wander away from home and make a 14-minute walk to the McDonald’s at Indiana and Madison.

“This was his safe haven. Nobody’s ever ever called the police on him (there). We would always find him in the restroom or sitting at the table drinking something,” she said.

Peter Villalobos was there the morning of June 20 after leaving home sometime after they went to bed at 1:30 a.m. The restaurant manager told a dispatcher that a man had been in the bathroom stall for an hour and would not come out.

Police video shows an officer attempting to talk Villalobos out of the stall. The officer has difficulty understanding Villalobos as he spells his last name through the closed door. When Villalobos eventually leaves the restaurant and again spells his last name for the officer, it’s different than what the officer had written down.

“So you lied to me about your last name,” the officer says.

“No, no, I’m not lying, Villalobos said as he looks around the parking lot. The officer demands he stop it.

(Olivia Villalobos would say after viewing the video that she believes he was looking for her.)

The encounter goes downhill from there.

Warning: This video contains graphic content

The officer, dissatisfied with the name Villalobos supplied and the fact that he can’t remember his birthdate, insists that Villalobos lean against the patrol car while the officer tries to identify him. Villalobos says he won’t do that, and the officer then threatens to arrest him.

“I’m not going with you, bro,” says Villalobos, who offers to leave. “I want to go home,” he adds.

For the next three and a half minutes, the officer and Villalobos, who is being accused of trespassing, disagree on whether he would comply. The officer tries to handcuff him but is unable to do so as Villalobos mildly resists. A second officer then arrives.

As they attempt to handcuff Villalobos, one officer says, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

The first officer then repeats his mistaken assertion that Villalobos has given him a fake name. Villalobos continues to insist that he has done nothing wrong. The officers say they will cite and release Villalobos if he cooperates.

But he doesn’t.

By this time, the officers’ body-worn cameras have been knocked off their uniforms. The patrol car’s camera, however, captures what happens next: The officers use more force to attempt to handcuff the suspect.

One officer uses his forearm to shove Villalobos’ head into the hood of the patrol car and the other officer throws a punch. His partner then slugs Villalobos four times in the upper body and attempts two punches to the head, the last one missing. The officers and Villalobos fall to the ground, out of view of that camera.

The remainder of the confrontation is captured on a surveillance camera from the far end of the restaurant. The officers lay on top of Villalobos. There is some arm movement by the officers that is difficult to discern.

In the ambulance, the video shows a paramedic treating Villalobos. He moves his arm when asked. The paramedic notes swelling to his head and cuts on his nose and knees. His pupils do not respond to light, which could be a result of a raft of problems, including head trauma and substance abuse. Villalobos is breathing hard, his belly rising and falling.

“His look is changing to panic,” a paramedic warns.

Villalobos arrives at the hospital at 7:36 a.m. A paramedic notes his low blood pressure. Villalobos was pronounced dead 2 hours and 12 minutes later.

Nothing in the department’s video suggests that the officers considered that Villalobos might be mentally ill. Olivia Villalobos wondered why they didn’t immediately call for paramedics or a mental health worker. She has posted signs in the McDonald’s parking lot — sometimes twice a day — that ask witnesses to come forward and criticize police.

Gonzalez said in the interview that he doesn’t know what the officers told investigators. The department has improved its training for encounters with mentally ill people, with good outcomes, Gonzalez said.

“I think our No. 1 priority is to have a resolution with no force used,” Gonzalez said, adding that when force is used, the intention is to minimize injury to officers and suspects.

Olivia Villalobos said that after viewing her son’s body, that goal was not achieved in Peter’s case.

“I could not believe it,” she said. “He looked like somebody beat him up.”