ALAMEDA – Three police officers are charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of an Oakland man in Alameda three years ago.
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price would not say whether there is any new evidence. Her office charged the officers Thursday, just before the third anniversary of the death and a day before the statute of limitations was set to expire.
The officers are Eric McKinley, Cameron Leahy and James Fisher. Officer Fisher now works for the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office. A previous prosecutor and a pair of independent investigations had cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.
“We are trying to restore trust in a system that has not always been fair to the people, especially in Alameda County,” Price said.
On April 19, 2021, officers caught up with 26-year-old Mario Gonzalez during a theft investigation. He appeared incoherent in police bodycam video. After talking with him for nine minutes, officers decided to arrest him. They said he was resisting, so they took him to the ground where an officer placed a knee on his back. After about five minutes of struggling, Gonzalez stopped breathing.
Friends of Mario Gonzalez’s family welcomed the news of the criminal charges against the officers.
“True justice would have been if our loved ones were never stolen (from us). And what we see here is that the process is a civil settlement first and then, if we’re lucky, we get criminal charges,” said Amanda Majail-Blanco, who works for CURYJ, a nonprofit youth justice restorative justice organization.
Her brother, Erik Salgado, also died at the hands of police. Those officers were never charged.
“I still carry a lot of anger inside me. I have turned that into energy, faith and hope. When I see this with Mario’s family, I see a ray of hope in our case,” said Majail-Blanco.
Attorney Alison Berry Wilkinson represents Officer Cameron Leahy. She said this is all political with Price facing a recall. In a statement, she wrote in part, “the officers’ actions during Mr. Gonzalez’s arrest were reasonable, necessary and lawful.”
“What the public needs to know is that I am closed from the case. I will not participate and have not participated in the final decision of the case,” Price said.
Price said she had no influence on the case and her team made the charging decision.
Her supporters said it’s about holding everyone accountable.
Da Lin
