Angelo Quinto “has been suffering from anxiety, depression and paranoia in recent months,” his family’s lawyers said in a wrongful death claim filed Feb. 18.
His sister Isabella Collins called police at their home in Antioch, California on Dec. 23 because she feared he would hurt their mother, family law attorney John L. Burris said at a Feb. 18 news conference.
Before police arrived, Quinto’s mother had held him to her chest for a few minutes with her hands wrapped around his back, and “he had already started to calm down,” the claim said. When two police officers from Antioch arrived, Burris said they made no attempt to understand the situation and instead immediately grabbed Quinto from his mother’s arms.
Quinto lost consciousness and was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead three days later, in-house attorneys say in the claim.
Maria Quinto-Collins, Quinto’s mother, used her cell phone to record part of the incident.
“What happened?”, She says breathlessly when one sees that Quinto is not moving and is lying on his stomach. Cops roll him over to carry his body out, and his face is bloody. He is transferred to a stretcher, and paramedics administer chest compressions to Quinto while his mother answers her phone and asks questions.
It was not clear from the video whether the officers were wearing body cameras.
“As far as we know, they weren’t,” Burris said last week.
In the nearly two months since Quinto’s death, police have not issued a press release about the incident. Antioch Police and the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Division did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.
“These Antioch police officers had already handcuffed Angelo, but did not stop their attack on the young man and inexplicably began using the ‘George Floyd’ technique of placing a knee on the back and side of his neck, taking Mr. don’t kill me, ” said Burris.
Quinto’s cause of death is still pending, the Contra Costa County sheriff’s office told CNN on Monday. His death is under investigation by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office.
Isabella Collins said she called the police hoping they would help de-escalate the situation.
The city clerk and the attorney of Antioch did not respond to requests for comment.