District Attorney Pamela Price announced Thursday evening that she plans to file charges against the three Alameda police officers involved in the 2021 death of Mario Gonzalez.
Price announced this at a press conference on Thursday around 6 p.m. She said the officers would be charged with involuntary manslaughter.
During the news conference, Price misstated the possible punishment the charges could bring, saying the officers could spend 15 years to life in state prison. Her office later clarified that the possible sentence could be up to four years.
The city of Alameda released a statement shortly later confirming the allegations.
“At this time, one of the three officers involved is no longer employed by the City of Alameda. The two other officers currently employed by the City of Alameda have been placed on administrative leave,” the statement said.
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Gonzalez was suspected of stealing alcohol on April 19, 2021, when he was confronted by Alameda officers in the 800 block of Oak Street after 911 calls.
The officers had difficulty arresting him as a suspect in the possible theft after he could not identify himself. During his arrest officers pinned him to the ground until he went limp and died.
Police bodycam video released days later showed Gonzalez gasping and screaming as officers pressed their body weight on his back, neck and shoulder, including one officer pressing his knee into Gonzalez’s back for several minutes.
a The coroner’s report found that the cause of death was a combination of drugs, along with the physical stress of the altercation with officers.
Former Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley announced that she would not prosecute the officers criminally in April 2022.
When Price took office, she said Gonzalez’s death was one of the cases she planned to review and reopen in January of last year. Thursday’s announcement comes almost exactly three years after Gonzalez died.
Reached the city of Alameda two separate settlements with Gonzalez’s family, one of which is worth more than $11 million.
