The family of a Navy veteran who was going through an episode of paranoia says he died after a Northern California police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes.
The family of 30-year-old Angelo Quinto said Tuesday that they called police to their home in Antioch on Dec. 23 because he needed help.
They said that soon after arriving, an officer knelt on Quinto’s neck for nearly five minutes.
“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’s mother, Cassandra Quinto-Collins.
Quinto lost consciousness and was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he died three days later.
“I trusted the police because I thought they knew what they were doing but he was actually passive and visibly not dangerous or a threat so, it was absolutely unnecessary what they did to him,” she said.
The Antioch Police Department didn't respond to a request for comment.
