A family has alleged that police officers used excessive force during their encounter with the Navy veteran, which directly led to his death.
What We Know:
- The veteran was Angelo Quinto, a resident of Antioch, California, 45 miles east from San Francisco. According to his family, Quinto had shown signs of depression, paranoia, and anxiety in the months before his death. The family called officers to their home on December 23rd to deal with an episode Quinto was experiencing.
- A lawsuit filed against the city of Antioch by the family alleged that Quinto was being restrained by his mother Cassandra and was beginning to calm until officers arrived on the scene.
- “He said ‘Please don’t kill me. Please don’t kill me,’ as they were putting him on the ground. They handcuffed him, and one officer put his knee on the back of his neck the whole time I was in the room, said Quinto’s mother Cassandra while speaking to the Los Angeles Times.
“I trusted the police because I thought they knew what they were doing. But he was actually passive and visibly not dangerous or a threat so it was absolutely unnecessary what they did to him,” she stated.
- NBC News reported that a video recorded of the incident by Quinto-Collins and posted online appeared to show an unconscious and visibly bloody Qunito being rolled onto his side by officers. Following this, paramedics arrived on the scene and attempted to resuscitate him, taking Quinto to a local hospital where he died three days later.
- The family’s attorney referred to the officers’ actions as the “George Floyd technique” after a similar incident that occurred on May 25th, where officers knelt on Floyd’s neck for several minutes leading to his death. Floyd’s death sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and calls to reform police organizations.
- The Antioch Police Department did not make knowledge of the incident public until January 25th. Authorities have not confirmed a cause of death and the investigation is still ongoing. No officers have been formally charged yet.
Angelo Quinto was born in the Philippines and was honorably discharged from the Navy in 2019. He was 30 years old and is survived by his mother, step-father, and two siblings.
