The family of a 30-year-old Navy veteran filed a wrongful death claim against the City of Antioch after he died following an encounter with the police. On December 23, Isabella Collins called the police for help because her brother, Angelo Quinto, was in the middle of a mental health crisis.
By the time officers arrived, Quinto had calmed down and was hugging his mother, Cassandra Quinto-Collins. The officers came inside and forcefully pulled Quinto from his mother's arms and threw him to the ground to restrain him. One of the officers knelt on Quinto's neck for nearly five minutes, even though he was already handcuffed.
The family's attorney released a four-minute video recorded by Cassandra that showed her son motionless on the floor. As the officers roll him onto a gurney, the video captures his bloodied face. Three days later, Quinto was pronounced dead. Authorities have not released his cause of death, but his family believes it was a result of asphyxiation. The family's lawyer, John Burris, blamed the officer for putting his knee on Quinto's neck.
"I refer to it as the George Floyd technique, that's what snuffed the life out of him, and that cannot be a lawful technique," Burris said. "We see not only violations of his civil rights but also violations against the rights of his mother and sisters, who saw what happened to him."
The City of Antioch has 45 days to respond to the claim. After 45 days, Burris said he will file a federal lawsuit against the city.
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