Richmond officers took the stand to defend their restraint tactics in a federal wrongful death civil trial expected to end Monday.
Category: Restrained and Sedated
Since 2014, 16 people in California have died after being injected with a sedative during law enforcement calls. Two of those deaths were in Richmond: Jose Luis Lopez, a 40-year-old construction worker, in 2020; and Ivan Gutzalenko, a 47-year-old registered nurse, in 2021. These are their stories.
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Richmond police officer denies, in court, that ‘excessive’ force caused man’s death
One of the Richmond officers testifying in civil rights lawsuit breaks down in tears, insisting he only wanted to help Concord nurse Ivan Gutzalenko, who died in 2021 after being restrained and forcibly sedated.
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Tight on time? Catch up on our Restrained and Sedated series in one story
A summary of Richmondside’s 5-part series about two men who died a year apart after being restrained by Richmond police officers and sedated by paramedics.
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Upcoming civil rights trial will examine use of forced sedation in Richmond death
A lawsuit filed by the family of Ivan Gutzalenko says he was not resisting arrest and that the paramedic who injected him was “acting on behalf” of Richmond police.
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An off-duty nurse’s behavior startled onlookers. He died 90 minutes after police arrived
Police were trying to handcuff a bleeding Ivan Gutzalenko when the situation escalated. He was sedated by a paramedic and stopped breathing.
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Family of man who died in Richmond police custody challenged cause of death report
Jose Luis Lopez’s life began happily in Nicaragua. It ended violently, and his family rejects the coroner’s ruling of “excited delirium.”
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Their deaths were similar. The Contra Costa coroner’s process was not
In 2020 and 2021, two Richmond men died after being restrained and sedated. Records show differences in how the cases were handled. The coroner’s office won’t say why.
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2 men died in Richmond police custody after forcibly sedated. Records reveal inconsistencies
The families of a construction worker and a nurse who died in the last five years are left questioning what really happened and whether it was avoidable.
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Inside a reporter’s 3-year effort to investigate the deaths of 2 men after forced sedations
Richmondside reporter Joel Umanzor shares how he used public records and drew on personal relationships to tell the stories of Jose Luis Lopez and Ivan Gutzalenko.
