BRENTWOOD — A 72-year-old lady went unconscious at the back of a police automobile and later died, and Brentwood police — who by no means instructed the general public in regards to the Sept. 26 incident — are already going through authorized blowback from her household.
Yolanda Ramirez, a Brentwood native who retired from a 30-year profession at Contra Costa Well being Companies, was arrested on suspicion of a misdemeanor for allegedly yelling at a member of the family’s house.
Whereas at the back of a patrol automobile outdoors the Broderick Drive house, Ramirez apparently suffered what turned out to be a mind bleed and went unconscious. Paramedics rushed her to a hospital the place she remained on life assist till her Oct. 3 dying, based on a authorized declare — a precursor to a lawsuit — filed by Ramirez’s household on Monday.
The Brentwood Police Division by no means publicly acknowledged Ramirez’s dying or disclosed particulars to the general public, an abnormality in Contra Costa, the place all law-enforcement deaths are topic to third-party investigations as a matter of coverage.
Brentwood police Chief Walter O’Grodnick didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
An legal professional representing Ramirez’s kin mentioned the household made repeated makes an attempt to hunt solutions from the Brentwood Police Division. Having no success, they launched their very own probe, sending non-public investigators who interviewed eyewitnesses, the legal professional mentioned.
The tip consequence, as detailed within the authorized declare, says an officer compelled Ramirez to her knees “as she cried in pain,” knocked her head into the door of the patrol automobile and had a second officer assist him “drag” her into the automobile, the place she remained, handcuffed, for 10 minutes earlier than anybody seen she was in medical misery.
After a gaggle of officers peered into the patrol automobile window, they referred to as for medical help, and carried her into an ambulance, the declare alleges.
“At this point she was covered in vomit and appeared to be unconscious,” the declare says, blaming her mind bleed and dying on “abuse” by the police. The declare later provides that, “At least six third party witnesses observed the incident and were outraged by the brutality they witnessed against a visibly elderly woman.”
Ramirez’s obituary says she’ll be remembered “for her unconditional love for family and friends, caring nature toward others like donating blood to the Red Cross, and her sense of humor especially her contagious laugh.”
“She always had a contagious laugh and found humor recollecting embarrassing moments in her life, a strong devotion to babysitting her grandchildren and unwavering support for her family and touched countless lives with her warmth and kindness,” the obituary says.
The authorized declare says that police had been referred to as for “unknown reasons” after she drove to choose up her brother for a health care provider’s appointment and after he didn’t reply the door on the 100 block of Broderick Drive in Brentwood she yelled by way of a window of the house. The declare says Ramirez’s household was later given a slip saying she was arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest, however a legislation enforcement supply with firsthand information mentioned the DA’s workplace was instructed by police she was arrested on suspicion of disturbing the peace. The identical supply mentioned prosecutors had been instructed by officers that Ramirez died of a stroke.
The declare says a “male officer,” who’s “believed to be” Brentwood police union president Aaron Peachman, “falsely accused” Ramirez of resisting arrest compelled her to her knees whereas she was handcuffed, then instructed her to face. It says she suffered “deep cuts” to her wrists and that after she was taken away by ambulance, her automobile was impounded “so that her husband, who was on his way and also one of the registered owners, could not take possession of the family car.”
A message despatched to the police union on Tuesday was not instantly returned.
Melissa Nold, the Vallejo-based lawyer who filed the declare, referred to as it “egregious” that the division refused to offer Ramirez’s household extra info.
“I should not have to hire private investigators just to get the family a basic understanding of what happened to Mrs. Ramirez,” Nold mentioned in a written assertion. “She deserved to be treated with dignity, respect and care and the department profoundly failed her in all of those aspects.”
