The lone remaining Alameda police officer charged in the 2021 death of Mario Gonzalez appeared in court Friday morning.
A group of Gonzalez’s friends, family and supporters gathered outside the courthouse to continue their fight for justice.
“It’s a shame. It’s a shame, but we’re not going to stop, we’re going to continue,” said family friend Amanda Majail-Blanco.
Majail-Blanco is referring to the decision of an Alameda County judge dismiss involuntary manslaughter charges against two Alameda police officers in Gonzalez’s death.
The judge ruled that prosecutors had not filed the paperwork necessary to charge the officers within the three-year statute of limitations.
The case against the third officer, Erik McKinley, can move forward because a five-month mission trip to South Africa paused his three-year stint.
“I hope something good comes from pursuing McKinley,” Majail-Blanco said. ‘I hope they hold him accountable. The officers who walked with us are going to blow their faces up everywhere.”
González died in April 2021 at the age of 26 after he stopped breathing during an arrest. Body camera footage showed officers pinning him face down on the ground, with at least one officer pressing his elbow and knee into Gonzales’ back for several minutes.
In April 2022, then-District Attorney Nancy O’Malley declined to prosecute the officers who had no evidence of misconduct.
The official coroner’s report stated: “The cause of death is the toxic effects of methamphetamine, with the physiological stress of altercation and restraint, morbid obesity and alcoholism contributing to the dying process.”
Last April, current DA Pamela Price announced that her office would charge the officers with involuntary manslaughter.
“This is a scenario that should never happen,” said legal analyst and former prosecutor Steven Clark.
Clark says there are certain timelines that prosecutors must follow and there is no good excuse for missing the deadline. He believes the prosecutor’s mistake could have unexpected consequences.
“The jurors may wonder why he’s being selected and there are two empty seats from other officers, so I think it will actually work in Officer McKinley’s favor,” Clark said.
He believes there is a chance that both will end up in court in a different capacity.
“Now that these two officers will not be charged and cannot be charged, will they come forward as witnesses for their officer brother?” Clark asked.
Majail-Blanco was visibly emotional when she spoke about Gonzalez.
Gonzalez’s mother, Edith, was so distraught that she could not come to court. Nevertheless, they have decided to remain hopeful about the future.
“I’m going to try to have faith in it because that’s really all we can do as support for the family and as an advocate. And if Edith were here, I’m sure she would say she has a lot of faith in God who has held this man accountable and has justice,” Majail-Blanco said.
McKinley will enter his plea on Friday, October 25.
