When someone you love died while being restrained by police in California

We are very sorry if you are reading this because someone you love died during an arrest or while officers were holding them down. Families who come to us after a death like this often hear words they have never heard before, such as "prone restraint," "positional asphyxia" or "medical emergency." A positional asphyxia death lawsuit is one way a family can find out what really happened and hold the agency accountable when officers used restraint in a way that made it hard for the person to breathe.

This guide explains, in plain language, what California law now says about restraint, how these cases are usually investigated, why the autopsy matters so much, what families in other California cases have recovered, and the deadlines that apply. It is general information, not legal advice for your situation. If your loved one died during police restraint in California, you can ask for a free, confidential review.

What is positional asphyxia, and how does it happen during an arrest?

California law defines positional asphyxia as placing a person in a position that compresses their airway and keeps them from breathing normally. The statute, Government Code § 7286.5, says this includes using unreasonable pressure on a restrained person's neck, torso or back, and leaving a restrained person in a position without reasonable monitoring for signs of asphyxia.

In real life, families usually describe one or more of these situations:

• The person was held face down on the ground (often called prone restraint) for minutes, sometimes after they were already handcuffed.
• One or more officers put their body weight on the person's back, shoulders or neck.
• Officers used leg restraints such as a hobble, or tied wrists and ankles together, and left the person on their stomach.
• No one rolled the person onto their side or checked their breathing until they stopped moving.
• The person was in a mental health crisis or under the influence, and officers treated them as a fight rather than a medical emergency.

None of this means every restraint is unlawful. Officers are allowed to use reasonable force to make an arrest. The legal question is whether the restraint was reasonable under all the circumstances, including how long it lasted, whether the person was already controlled and whether officers watched for signs of distress.

What California law says about restraint and positional asphyxia

AB 490: a ban on techniques that risk positional asphyxia

In 2020, California barred law enforcement agencies from authorizing carotid restraints and choke holds. In 2021, the Legislature passed AB 490, which added a second rule to the same statute. Since January 1, 2022, agencies may not authorize any technique or transport method that involves a substantial risk of positional asphyxia, according to the text of Government Code § 7286.5 and a November 2021 summary by the law firm Liebert Cassidy Whitmore. Police departments trained officers on the new law in 2022; Fontana and San Diego have both published their training materials.

The statute speaks to what agencies may authorize. It does not by itself create a separate lawsuit. But in a civil case, the law, the agency's own policy and its training records can be strong evidence of what a reasonable officer should have known and done.

AB 360: "excited delirium" is no longer a cause of death

For years, deaths after restraint were often blamed on "excited delirium," a label that shifted attention away from what officers did. AB 360, signed on October 8, 2023, says excited delirium "shall not be recognized as a valid medical diagnosis or cause of death" in California. Under the law:

• Coroners, medical examiners and physicians may not list excited delirium as a cause of death on a death certificate or in a report.
• Peace officers may not use the term to describe a person in an incident report, though they may describe the person's behavior.
• Evidence that a person "suffered from excited delirium" is not admissible in a civil case, although witnesses may still describe what they saw.

The bill was inspired in part by the death of Angelo Quinto in Antioch, according to CBS Sacramento and KQED.

Why the autopsy matters so much in a restraint death

In restraint cases, the first autopsy is often where the case is won or lost. A report may list a heart condition, drug intoxication or "physiologic stress" without saying the restraint itself caused the death. The manner of death may be listed as accident or undetermined. That does not end the question.

Several California families have challenged the first findings:

• In the Stockton case of Shayne Sutherland, the county medical examiner ruled the death accidental, citing cardiac arrest and methamphetamine. A second autopsy commissioned by the family called it a homicide caused by positional asphyxia, KQED reported.
• In Angelo Quinto's case, the first autopsy listed excited delirium. A second autopsy for the family found suffocation in a restrained position, and the county coroner later revised his opinion to agree, according to KQED.
• In Mario Gonzalez's death in Alameda, the coroner ruled the manner of death a homicide and listed the "physiologic stress of altercation and restraint" as a significant condition, alongside methamphetamine, ABC7 reported.

If you can, talk with a lawyer before burial or cremation about whether an independent autopsy makes sense. Ask for the full autopsy report, toxicology and photographs, and keep every document the coroner sends you. Our guide to getting the autopsy, records and video after a death in custody walks through those requests step by step.

What families have recovered in California restraint death cases

These are reported results in California cases handled by other firms. Each family filed a public claim or lawsuit.

In the Bronstein case, seven officers and a nurse were charged with involuntary manslaughter in March 2023, and the State admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement, ABC30 reported. Charges are only accusations. Every case is different. Past results, including those listed here, do not predict the outcome of any other case. For a wider list, see our page on police brutality settlements in California.

Who can be held responsible when someone dies during restraint?

A restraint death case can name several defendants:

• The individual officers or deputies who applied the restraint, and those who stood by and did not step in.
• The city, county or State agency that employed them. Under Government Code § 815.2, a public entity is generally responsible for what its employees do within the scope of their jobs, though some immunities apply.
• The agency itself on a federal claim, if the death was caused by a policy, a widespread practice or a failure to train, for example, training that ignored the risks of prone restraint.
• Medical staff or contractors, if a nurse, paramedic or jail medical provider failed to monitor or treat the person.

Most of these claims rest on two kinds of law. Federal civil-rights law (42 U.S.C. § 1983) covers excessive force under the Fourth Amendment, judged by whether the force was objectively reasonable in light of everything the officers knew. California law covers wrongful death, battery, negligence and the Bane Act. Officers sometimes argue qualified immunity on the federal claims, but that defense does not apply to state-law claims such as battery or the Bane Act.

When the death happens in a jail rather than on the street, the legal rules shift a little, and the restraint chair is a common factor. Our guide to restraint chair deaths in jail covers those cases.

Who can bring a claim after a restraint death?

Two kinds of claims usually go together. A wrongful death claim belongs to close family members, such as a spouse or registered domestic partner and children, and in some situations parents or others who depended on the person. A survival claim belongs to the person's estate and covers the losses the person had before they died. In federal civil-rights cases, federal courts in California have allowed the estate to recover for the person's own suffering in some cases. Which claims fit your family depends on your relationship and the facts, so get advice early.

The deadlines: six months for state claims, two years for federal claims

This is the part families most often miss. If the officers worked for a California city, county or State agency, your family must present a written government claim to that agency within six months of the death (Government Code § 911.2) to keep state-law claims such as wrongful death and the Bane Act. If the claim is rejected in writing, you generally have six months from the rejection to file suit. Late-claim relief exists but is narrow. Families lose strong cases simply by waiting. Our guide to the six-month government claim deadline explains how it works.

Federal civil-rights claims under § 1983 do not require a government claim and generally must be filed within two years in California. That longer deadline is not a reason to wait, because the state claims and the evidence can be lost in the meantime.

If an officer is under criminal investigation, the civil deadlines still run. Body-camera video of a critical incident must generally be released within 45 days (Government Code § 7923.625), and records about force that causes death are public under Penal Code § 832.7.

What to do in the first weeks

1. Ask the coroner or medical examiner for the autopsy report, toxicology and the case number, and ask whether you can arrange an independent autopsy before release of the body.
2. Do not sign anything from the agency, its insurer or a hospital about the death without legal advice.
3. Write down what you know: date, time, place, agency, officer names or badge numbers and any witness names.
4. Save texts, voicemails, letters and social media posts, including any video bystanders posted.
5. Do not give a recorded statement to investigators about the case without talking to a lawyer.
6. Call a lawyer well before the six-month mark. We send preservation letters for body-camera and dash-camera video, dispatch audio, use-of-force reports, training records and medical records.

How LaCour Trial Lawyers handles restraint death cases

We are a trial firm, and our partners lead these cases from the first call. We take police misconduct and wrongful death in custody cases across California, with Spanish-speaking lawyers and staff, and we work on contingency, so there is no fee unless there is a recovery. Restraint deaths often overlap with Taser use and mental health crisis calls, and we review all of those facts together.

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information about California and federal law and about public records as of its date. It is not legal advice, and reading it or contacting us does not create an attorney–client relationship. Allegations in lawsuits are claims, not findings. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Attorney advertising.