Contra Costa County DA dismisses resisting arrest charge against man choked out by deputy
Opening statements began Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020 in Roosevelt Tarlesson's resisting arrest case. He is standing outside the courthouse in Pittsburg.
MARTINEZ, Calif. - The Contra Costa County District Attorney has dismissed resisting arrest charges against a 40-year-old man who was choked out by a deputy in a heated family court situation over child custody payments, KTVU has learned.
DA spokesman Scott Alonso confirmed that the charges were dismissed against Roosevelt Tarlesson of Daly City late last month.
"There was no explanation," Tarlesson told KTVU on Tuesday. "But they decided to drop it. I am happy. Definitely."
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In September, prosecutors had moved forward with a trial against Tarlesson, where they told a jury in opening statements that he acted aggressively, even violently, in family court on Oct. 23, 2018. A commissioner had told him to pay $50 more a month in child custody, a point that he stood up to question -- loudly and repeatedly.
In an incident report, Contra Costa County sheriff's deputy described Tarlesson as "defiant," prompting him to take him down to the ground, putting him in a chokehold so that he couldn't breathe, according to a separate federal lawsuit Tarlesson filed against the county. Tarlesson blacked out and went to the hospital. He had bruising and a sore throat for a month, the suit alleges.
After a short one-day trial in September, a jury came back hung. The DA's Office at the time told KTVU they would review the case and determine if it should be re-tried. Ultimately, they decided to drop the case.
The charge of resisting arrest has come under renewed scrutiny following the death of George Floyd. Progressive-minded prosecutors, including Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton, said this summer that they would enact stricter oversight before charging someone with a standalone resisting arrest crime.
Becton made a special point to note changes that her office would take before filing resisting arrest cases, which many acknowledge are unfairly filed against people of color.
That's because resisting arrest cases, without video, often become "he said, he said," without visual evidence to back up a police officer's allegations and put the alleged suspect at an immediate disadvantage.
Specifically, last month, Becton said her office would review "all available evidence," including body camera video, before charging a resisting arrest case. However, in this case, the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office is one of the few police agencies in California that still does not use body cameras.
The charges against Tarlesson were filed before Becton made public her policy shift. However, the decision to proceed with the first jury trial against Tarlesson comes after her post-George Floyd proclamations.
Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@foxtv.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez