Two months before George Floyd’s ‘I can’t breathe’ screams shook the world, another man died mouthing the same haunting words a whopping 11 times.
A 16-minute video captured by one of the officers and released on order by a federal judge, shows several officers kneeling on a man as he shouts and tells the officers he couldn’t breathe. He dies several minutes later, the video shows.
38-year-old Edward Bronstein was pulled over for suspected driving under the influence by California Highway Patrol on March 31, 2020. The officers asked that they must draw his blood to measure his alcohol level, which Bronstein refused because of his fear of needles, his family says, Daily Mail reported.
“Have a seat and provide your arm. This is your last opportunity,” a patrolman is heard saying in the video. “Otherwise you're going to go face down on the map and we're going to keep on going.” And that’s exactly what happened.
After some initial hesitation and questions whether law enforcement officers are qualified to draw blood, a kneeling Bronstein begins yelling ‘I’ll do it willingly’ when around five cops begin to pin him down. Another joins in later.
“You are bringing the fight to this, not us,” one of the cops says adding that a court order permits them to draw blood.
“I am not bringing the fight at all,” Bronstein replies before he is pinned down ruthlessly by several officers amid his heart-wrenching screams.
Painful shrieks of ‘I’ll do it willingly’ and ‘I can’t breathe’ follow as the officers grab his arms and legs and fling themselves over a distressed Bronstein. One officer asks Bronstein to relax and said ‘It’s too late now’ as they ready needles to draw his blood.
Soon after, Bronstein’s painful cries cease abruptly as the officers sit around his lifeless body. They check for a pulse and turn him over and slap him in the face to revive him. They even try CPR a good 10 minutes later to save him but to no avail. Bronstein, a father of five, was already dead.
He had urinated during his ordeal that lasted several minutes.
The coroner’s office attributed Bronstein’s death to “acute methamphetamine intoxication during restraint by law enforcement,” though it declared the cause as “undetermined,” Los Angeles Times reported.
Bronstein’s family has filed a lawsuit against nine officers and a sergeant, alleging excessive force and a violation of civil rights. The family also wants the cops to be criminally charged.
The officers are Carlos Villanueva, Christopher Sanchez-Romero, Darren Parsons, Diego Romero, Dusty Osmanson, Eric Voss, Justin Silva, Dionisio Fiorella and Marciel Terry. Also named is Sgt. Michael Little.
In May 2020, African-American man George Floyd was killed in a similar manner when a police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for around nine minutes. Floyd shouted ‘I can’t breathe’ several times before he died lying face down and handcuffed on a road in Minneapolis as bystanders recorded the chilling encounter. His death sparked international outrage and the Black Lives Matter protest gained momentum asking for justice for Floyd. Chauvin was charged with Floyd’s murder and sentenced to 22 and half years in prison.
In 2014, another African-American man Eric Garner died during an arrest in which he also complained of not being able to breathe. It was found that the officers used a banned chokehold to subdue him.
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