Video: California Man Dies after Officers Pin Him to Ground

A video, released by police in the Northern California city of Alameda, showed officers pinning a man facedown to the ground for more than five minutes during an arrest last week that ended in his death.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL2EkGo5C0M[/embed]

Mario Gonzalez, 26, died April 19, one day before Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was convicted of murdering George Floyd by holding him to the pavement with his knee for 9 minutes, 29 seconds as Floyd said repeatedly that he couldn't breathe.

A police report said "a physical altercation ensued" when officers tried to detain Gonzalez at a park in Alameda and that at that time, "the man had a medical emergency."

The report noted that Gonzalez later died at a hospital. In addition, his family contends he was killed by police who used excessive force.

"The police killed my brother in the same manner that they killed George Floyd," Gerardo Gonzalez, the victim's brother, said at a news conference outside the Alameda Police Department.

"Alameda police officers murdered my brother Mario," he added, affirming that his brother was not posing a threat when he died.

Julia Sherwin, the family's attorney, said: "It's strikingly similar to the Floyd case."

The video portrays police talking to Gonzalez in a park after receiving 911 calls that he appeared to be disoriented or drunk. The later seemed dazed and struggled to answer questions.

When Gonzalez didn't make any identification, the officers try to force his hands behind his back to handcuff him but he resists and they take him to the ground.