Death in Struggle Ruled Homicide
A man who died after a struggle with 14 police officers last month was the victim of a homicide, the Los Angeles County coroner has ruled.
The coroner’s report found that Stewart Vigil, 29, died as a result of multiple trauma injuries, said spokesman Bob Dambacher, who added that Vigil’s use of methamphetamine, or speed, was a factor in his death. “It was ruled a homicide,” Dambacher said Friday.
The ruling gives a boost to claims by Vigil’s family in a $20-million federal suit filed in December and charging that the man’s constitutional rights were violated by the officers, said Stephen Yagman, an attorney for the family.
Cmdr. William Booth, the Los Angeles Police Department’s chief spokesman, said the coroner’s finding only determined the cause of death, and that any finding of improper conduct by the officers will be made by the department’s Internal Affairs Division.
Department investigators are looking into reports by witnesses that officers used excessive force in subduing Vigil. The county district attorney’s office is investigating whether the officers’ actions were criminal, Booth said.
Vigil died at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center on Dec. 4.
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