Contra Costa County Deputies To Face No Costs For 2018 In-Custody Demise – CBS San Francisco

MARTINEZ (BCN) – Two Contra Costa County Sheriff MPs will not be charged with the 2018 death of an Oakley man in custody, according to a report released by the prosecutor on Wednesday.

The investigation found that there was insufficient evidence of criminal prosecution against Reps Erik Vawter and Brian McDevitt.

CONTINUE READING: UPDATE: Man arrested with possible explosive device following stalemate with San Jose police

Both men were in attendance when Michael Hernandez stopped responding and went without a pulse on October 30, 2018, shortly after MPs arrested Hernandez for endangering his young daughter and assaulting the child’s mother, prosecutors said.

Hernandez was taken to a hospital where further attempts were made to resuscitate him, and he was eventually given life support. The next day, life support was stripped from him and pronounced dead.

The report is part of the Law Enforcement Fatal Incidents Protocol – adopted by all law enforcement agencies in the county – which requires an investigation into all incidents in which officers or civilians are shot or died in a clash with law enforcement agencies.

The sole purpose of the prosecutor’s investigation is to determine whether there is unequivocal evidence that a crime was committed during a fatal encounter with police, prosecutors said.

In the early hours of October 30, 2018, MPs responded to a report in which Hernandez was walking naked in front of his apartment, choking his three-month-old daughter and screaming that he had to take the devil off her, according to the prosecutor’s test report.

CONTINUE READING: 18-year-old carjacking suspect arrested during SWAT operation in Sunnyvale

The child’s mother stabbed Hernandez several times with a kitchen knife before her baby got into the hands of a neighbor and, according to the report, Hernandez started strangling the infant’s mother.

Neighbors intervened, holding Hernandez face down in front of his apartment until MPs arrived at 3:38 a.m. and handcuffed Hernandez. Both policemen tried to speak to the suspect and when they turned him around they saw his mouth foaming.

When MPs realized that Hernandez was unresponsive and had no pulse, they removed the handcuffs and provided emergency medical assistance, the report found, which found that MPs did not use physical force during their response and were not responsible for the suspect’s death .

An autopsy revealed that, according to the report, Hernandez died as a result of acute cocaine poisoning.

Upon examining the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s coroner on September 24, 2019, the jury issued a judgment on the accidental death.

MORE NEWS: South San Francisco Police Rescue Dog in armed robbery

© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.