Mario Gonzalez supporters want justice after manslaughter charges vs. 2 Alameda officers dropped
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.
OAKLAND, Calif. - 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.
Family and friends of Mario Gonzalez want all three Alameda police officers to be held criminally responsible for the 26-year-old's death in 2021.
The officers asked him for ID, which he didn't provide, and they held him down on the ground facedown for several minutes – after which he died.
A second autopsy determined he died from asphyxiation.
But this week, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Scott Patton ruled that the charges against two of the officers be dropped because the District Attorney didn't file the proper paperwork - an arrest warrant – in time to meet the three-year statute of limitations.
Because one of the officers, Eric McKinley, was in South Africa at the time, prosecutors had more time to file charges in his case. His case is still moving forward.
Bodycam video shows Alameda police officers struggling with Mario Gonzalez on April 18, 2021.
Patton set McKinely's plea hearing date for Oct. 25.
McKinley was present for the hearing but did not make any public comments.
Amanda Majail-Blanco attended the rally and said she and her peers have asked the DA to appeal the judge's decision, but was told that wasn't an option.
"I think the lawyers in private conversations with us have taken responsibility on behalf of the DA's office for filing late," she said Friday. "Does that mean they whole heartedly feel that way? Probably not. Sometimes it feels like there's not a sense of urgency, but you have to keep the faith that they are doing everything they can do."
DA Pamela Price did not respond to the judge's ruling herself, but a spokesperson in her office argued that the judge's decision was not made based on any lack of merit.
Though in his ruling, the judge wrote that the prosecutors "firmly put this case in jeopardy" by waiting until the last minute to file the paperwork.