Navy Veteran Died After California Cops Knelt on His Neck for Five Minutes, Says His Family
‘PLEASE DON’T KILL ME’
In a wrongful-death suit, the family says one responding Antioch officer knelt on Angelo Quinto’s neck for nearly five minutes while another officer restrained his legs.
The family of 30-year-old Navy veteran says he died days after police kneeled on his neck for five minutes in an attempt to restrain him while he was suffering from a mental-health episode. The incident, now subject of a wrongful-death suit, happened on Dec. 23. According to the Los Angeles Times, Angelo Quinto’s family called police to their Antioch, California, home because he was suffering a mental-health crisis and needed urgent help. His mom, Cassandra Quinto-Collins, said she had been hugging her son and he was calm when officers arrived at the house. But the family said one responding officer knelt on Quinto’s neck for nearly five minutes while another officer restrained his legs. “He said ‘Please don’t kill me. Please don’t kill me,’ as they were putting him on the ground. They handcuffed him, and one officer put his knee on the back of his neck the whole time I was in the room,” said Quinto-Collins. Quinto lost consciousness and was taken to hospital, where he died three days later. The Antioch Police Department hasn’t commented on the claims.
