Seven California Highway Patrol officers and a nurse were charged Wednesday, March 29, in the killing of a driver who shouted he couldn’t breathe several times as officers kneeled on top of him as they drew his blood in the parking lot of the Altadena CHP station nearly three years ago.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged Dionisio Fiorella, Michael Little, Dustin Osmanson, Darren Parsons, Diego Romero, Justin Silva and Marciel Terry with involuntary manslaughter and assault by an officer in the death of 38-year-old Edward Bronstein.
Arbi Baghalian, a nurse, was charged with involuntary manslaughter.
“For the system to work, people must be able to trust law enforcement. Police accountability is critical to building that trust, and it is necessary for public safety,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement. “I promise Mr. Bronstein’s family and our community that I will continue to advocate for stronger accountability in use-of-force cases and an independent review of deaths that occur while in law enforcement custody.”
A cell phone video from a CHP supervisor recorded what happened on March 31, 2020.
The coroner’s office determined Bronstein died from “acute methamphetamine intoxication during restraint by law enforcement.” However, the coroner didn’t rule the death as a homicide but as “undetermined.”
In the video which the DA’s office played during a press conference Wednesday, Bronstein could be heard saying, “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” several times.
Officers Osmanson and Terry stopped Bronstein on suspicion of DUI while he was on the 5 Freeway in Burbank on March 31, 2020 and took him to the parking lot of the Altadena CHP office at 2130 N. Windsor Ave and obtained a warrant to draw his blood, according to a statement from the DA’s Office.
Bronstein originally refused to have his blood drawn but agreed to do so as officers pushed him to the ground, the statement said.
“Six…
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