Remaining Alameda police officer charged in Mario Gonzalez's death pleads not guilty
Officer Eric McKinley, appearing alongside his attorney, in Alameda County Superior Court on Oct. 25, 2024.
OAKLAND, Calif. - The one remaining police officer charged in the 2021 death of Mario Gonzalez pleaded not guilty in Alameda County Superior Court on Friday.
Eric McKinley is facing an involuntary manslaughter charge in Gonzalez's death. The 26-year-old died after being pinned facedown to the ground for more than five minutes. Earlier this month, a judge dismissed charges against two of the officers originally charged in the case on the basis of prosecutorial paperwork and a timing technicality.
The judge did not dismiss McKinley's charges due to another technicality. The officer was in South Africa doing missionary work at the time that the three-year statute of limitations had run out, and his time frame being out of the country was a bit longer than the other two to file charges.
McKinley's next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 7 in Alameda County Superior Court.
On April 19, 2021, the officers were responding to a call involving a man behaving oddly in a public park on Oak Street. Officers then learned that Gonzalez was a suspect in a shoplifting incident and attempted to detain him.
Mario Gonzalez supporters want justice after manslaughter charges vs. 2 Alameda officers dropped
Those seeking justice for the death of an Alameda man at the hands of police held a small rally Friday outside an Oakland courthouse where one of three officers still faces involuntary manslaughter charges.
When officers approached him, Gonzalez did not provide ID when they asked.
Not providing ID is not a crime, but the refusal is what prompted the officers to pin him on his stomach on the ground.
He died after being restrained in a prone position for several minutes. Last year, his son was awarded an $11 million settlement.
Gonzalez later died at the hospital.
Alameda County District Attorn Pamela Price reopened the case against three police officers in February of last year.