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A woman places a candle at a memorial for Mario Gonzalez during a vigil on April 21, 2021. Gonzalez died in Alameda police custody Monday.
(Beth LaBerge/KQED)
During a vigil Wednesday evening in Alameda, community members and activists demanded answers in the death this week of a 26-year-old Oakland man.
Mario Gonzalez died in Alameda police custody on Monday after what police termed a scuffle with officers in a small park near the city s Park Street corridor, the Alameda Police Department said in a statement Tuesday. Gonzalez, who police claimed appeared to be under the influence and a suspect in a possible theft, suffered an unspecified medical emergency after officers tried to place his hands behind his back, according to the police statement. Gonzalez was transported by Alameda Fire Department personnel to a hospital where he later died.
Justice Department: Alameda County violates rights of mental health patients, inmates
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The mental health care of inmates at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin was the subject of a scathing Justice Department investigation that concluded on April 22.Noah Berger / Special to The Chronicle
Alameda County is violating the U.S. Constitution by “unnecessarily institutionalizing” people with mental health needs and by subjecting them to “prolonged” solitary confinement in the county jail, the Justice Department concluded after a five-year investigation.
The Justice Department delivered its strongly worded findings to Alameda County and its Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, along with an attachment that summarized the ways in which inadequate mental health care traps Alameda County residents who need it in a cycle of jail and psychiatric institutionalization.
Alameda police identify man who died during struggle with officers
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FILE - An Alameda police car. Credit: Alameda police
The events unfolded at 10:45 a.m. in the 800 block of Oak Street, where police said officers had responded to separate reports of a man under the influence and a man involved in a possible theft.
Officers started lifesaving procedures, called firefighters to the scene and Gonzales was taken to a hospital where he died, police said. Preliminary information indicates that after the officers made contact with him, there was a scuffle as officers attempted to place his hands behind his back, the Alameda Police Department said in a statement. Officers did not use any weapons during the scuffle with Mr. Gonzales.
Preliminary information indicates that after the officers made contact with him, there was a scuffle as officers attempted to place his hands behind his back, the Alameda Police Department said in a statement. Officers did not use any weapons during the scuffle with Mr. Gonzalez.
The cause of death remains unknown pending an autopsy, according to police. Police also do not know the cause of the medical emergency Gonzalez suffered.
Investigations have begun by the Alameda County Sheriff s Office and the Alameda County District Attorney s Office, and the city will contract with an outside investigator to conduct a separate, parallel investigation, police said.