Advertisement

New video shows police encounter that preceded death of New York man

Share

A police officer tackles 25-year-old Barrington Williams inside the Yankee Stadium subway station in the Bronx. A struggle ensues and soon three more officers arrive, pinning the young man to the ground while they force handcuffs around his wrists.

By the time they’re done, Williams’ body is limp. He lies motionless, apparently unconscious.

The scene was captured by surveillance cameras on Sept. 17, 2013, when Williams was caught illegally selling metro cards and attempted to evade police. He died later that day.

Advertisement

The footage was released Wednesday to New York Daily News by his mother, Karen Brown, who is suing the city and three police officers for wrongful death.

The suit, filed in federal court last year, alleges that police used excessive force in restraining Williams and failed to provide medical assistance after he suffered an asthma attack.

It claims that between 1:57 p.m., when Williams was handcuffed, and 2:14 p.m., when medics began administering chest compressions, the officers did not attempt CPR or mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The video footage released by the family included only the first two minutes of that period.

“Clearly, Barrington was in severe distress, and clearly the officers did nothing,” said Jason Leventhal, a lawyer for the mother.

In court documents, the officers — Joel Guach, Agenol Ramos and Robert O’Brien — deny any responsibility for Williams’ death.

The video shows the officers flip Williams over and move him toward the wall. One officer is seen holding an inhaler device, which he briefly places near Williams’ face.

Advertisement

According to the New York City Police Department, the officers called for emergency medical workers, who transported Williams to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“The Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Mr. Williams died of acute, chronic bronchial asthma and that there was no sign of trauma,” said Lt. John Grimpel, a spokesman for the department.

The death echoes that of Eric Garner, who died in 2014 after being put in a chokehold by police and suffering an asthma attack. Garner was black and his death triggered widespread protests against racial discrimination in law enforcement. A grand jury decided not to indict the officer involved in Garner’s death, but police handling of the case is now the subject of a federal investigation.

Williams was also black, but Leventhal said there was no evidence that discrimination was a factor in his death.

Rather, the main issue is the obligation police have to provide medical assistance to injured suspects.

Lawrence Kobilinsky, a professor of forensics at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said that police have a responsibility as first responders to perform CPR and contact emergency medical services immediately.

Advertisement

“Once a suspect is in the custody of law enforcement, they have an obligation to keep him safe in the process of bringing him through the criminal justice system,” he said.

Tom Verni, a former detective with the department, said its official guidelines say that police must provide reasonable aid. The guidelines do not specify that CPR is required.

Verni said that department policy prioritizes getting suspects into handcuffs before administering first aid, in part because suspects often feign physical distress to get officers to let their guard down.

In other cases, Verni said, officers have administered CPR when it was unnecessary, causing further injury to the individual, and the Police Department has been sued.

erica.evans@latimes.com

ALSO

Advertisement

Sanders acknowledges Democratic race is over

Paramedics barred from saving Orlando shooting victims because club was deemed too dangerous

As House Democrats stage sit-in to force gun vote, Republicans return to take up unrelated bills

Advertisement