The city of Stockton has approved a $6 million wrongful death settlement with the family of a man who died while in police custody in 2020, the family’s attorneys said.
Shayne Sutherland, who was 29 at the time of his death, was arrested on Oct. 8, 2020, and was held down by one officer’s body while another officer used a baton that was pressed against the man’s shoulder to hold him down.
A statement from a family spokesperson said Sutherland died at the hands of law enforcement due to positional asphyxiation when he was held down for several minutes and stopped breathing.
“Sutherland, who was suffering from a mental health crisis on Oct. 8, 2020, would likely not have died if Stockton Police officers followed their training and rolled him onto his side into the recovery position after handcuffing him,” the statement said.
At a news conference Thursday in Stockton, Shayne’s mother Karen Sutherland urged police to follow their training and avoid more deaths.
Sutherland’s death occurred less than six months after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer under similar circumstances.
Shortly before 7 a.m. on the day Sutherland died, the Stockton Police Department had received a 911 call from a person, now identified as Sutherland, asking for a taxicab from the AM/PM store located in the 10700 block of Trinity Parkway.
In an initial social media post by the Police Department, police said an employee of the store had told police over the phone that Sutherland was allegedly harassing customers and that he was holding a bottle of wine and threatening to throw it at the employee.
Police said they arrived at the scene at 7:10 a.m. and located Sutherland, who admitted to drug use. While talking to officers, he allegedly attempted to run away, which caused officers to tackle him to the ground and take him into custody.
However, the family’s attorney V. James DeSimone said Sutherland complied with officers’ commands to walk outside the store when they found him and listened to instructions from officers when asked to sit and answer their questions.
He said when Sutherland was handcuffed, he apologized and was struggling to breathe.
Held down for eight minutes
In bodycam footage released by the Stockton Police Department, one officer is heard saying, “He (Sutherland) is turning colors here.”
After Officers Ronald Zalunardo and John Afanasiev held Sutherland down for eight minutes, he stopped breathing and officers took the handcuffs off of him.
He was taken to a hospital and died there.
DeSimone said the case was about training and accountability.
“Police agencies must ensure their officers have a clear understanding of how important it is to place someone who is handcuffed and prone into the recovery position as fast as possible, which is what they are supposed to be doing,” DeSimone said. “The United States Department of Justice issued guidelines on how to preserve lives in 1995 and they should be required as part of the training for all police officers.”
Sutherland left behind two children and was the stepfather of three other children.
The Stockton Police Department said in a statement that they sympathize and recognize that any loss of life is a tragedy that has a lasting effect.
“We are dedicated to educating and training our officers while collaborating with community partner organizations to best serve the community,” the statement said. “By prioritizing training and education initiatives, the Stockton Police Department ensures that officers are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and expertise necessary to uphold public safety and maintain community trust.”
Victoria Franco is a reporter based in Stockton covering San Joaquin County for Bay City News Foundation and its nonprofit news site Local News Matters. She is a Report for America corps member.
