Disturbing newly released video shows Los Angeles police officers using force against a handcuffed jail inmate in the hours before he was later found dead inside his cell.
Jose Carlos Hoyos-Munoz, 58, was seen being kicked, restrained and forcibly handled by officers during a tense confrontation at the Van Nuys Regional Jail in the San Fernando Valley on July 15.
The footage shows officers taking Hoyos-Munoz to the floor after officials said he became erratic and combative. The LAPD said a spit hood was placed over his head after he allegedly spit at officers.
According to a department spokesman, Hoyos-Munoz was later left lying face down on his bed with his hands secured behind his back. A short time afterward, he was discovered unconscious and not breathing.
He was pronounced dead at the jail. The Los Angeles County medical examiner has not yet determined or released the official cause and manner of death.
The case surfaced shortly before another fatal LAPD encounter: the July 29 police shooting of 33-year-old Alejandro Luis Garcia, who authorities said was killed after refusing commands to drop a baseball bat he had been using to break car windows.
The LAPD released video connected to Hoyos-Munoz’s death this week, as scrutiny intensifies and community members call for deeper investigations into officer conduct in both the Hoyos-Munoz and Garcia cases.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she is issuing an executive directive calling for an independent review of LAPD officer-involved deaths, with special focus on cases “that might involve individuals experiencing a mental health crisis.”
Shocking footage captured the moment Los Angeles police officers beat handcuffed jail inmate Jose Carlos Hoyos-Munoz, 58, before he died in his cell in the Van Nuys Regional Jail on July 15
The footage showed the inmate was wrestled to the ground as he became combative and erratic, before he was kicked and struck several times
Bass said in a statement that she found the footage ‘incredibly difficult to watch’, as she argued LAPD officers have not been appropriately trained to handle mental health episodes.
‘Decades of disinvestment in community-based mental and behavioral health services have left too many Angelenos without access to timely and appropriate care, increasing the likelihood that people in crisis will come into contact with law enforcement,’ Bass said.
‘LAPD officers do not enter the force to become first responders to mental health crises and are not equipped with the proper training to do so.’
The mayor cited both Hoyos-Munoz and Garcia’s deaths as ‘what can happen when someone in a behavioral health crisis does not get the care they need.’
‘When an encounter results in death or serious injury, we must rigorously examine whether our policies, training, tactics, supervision, and accountability systems are sufficient.’
In Hoyos-Munoz’s case, he was arrested two days before his death on July 13 after he allegedly stabbed his mother and another relative, reports the LA Times.
As the victims were raced to hospital with injuries, Hoyos-Munoz allegedly refused to leave the home, leading SWAT officers to fire tear gas inside the property and storm inside to take him into custody.
Officers said he was acting erratically when they breached the home, as they found him kneeling in front of a piano and striking the keys.
Officers said they entered Hoyos-Munoz’s cell to handcuff him for his own safety after he behaved erratically
Hoyos-Munoz had been arrested two days before his death on July 13 after allegedly stabbing his mother and a relative
Hoyos-Munoz was left alone in his cell, and a short time later officers said they found him unconscious and not breathing
He was treated at hospital for exposure to tear gas, before being booked into jail.
In footage released by the LAPD, he initially appeared calm as he was walked into the facility, but he became distressed when he was placed in his cell.
An LAPD spokesperson said officers entered the cell to handcuff Hoyos-Munoz for his own safety, and footage showed a number of officers piling on top of him and striking him as he wrestled against them.
The spokesperson said three officers sustained minor injuries during the chaotic confrontation.
The inmate was then placed in a prone position when he tried to climb on top of a toilet, the spokesperson said.
Footage from inside the cell showed Hoyos-Munoz appearing motionless as he was left alone in the cell, however officials said police checked on him for the next 20 minutes and he was ‘breathing and exhibited signs of life.’
He was found unconscious a short time later. His cause and manner of death have not yet been established by a medical examiner.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she was issuing an Executive Directive for an independent review of officer-involved deaths in the LAPD in response, with particular attention cases ‘that might involve individuals experiencing a mental health crisis’
In the police shooting of Garcia also released this week, the 33-year-old was reportedly acting erratically near the 10 Freeway overpass in Los Angeles.
Officials said officers were dispatched following reports that Garcia was walking the streets with a baseball bat and smashing car windows.
Police then confronted Garcia as he was walking through traffic, and he did not respond when he was ordered to drop the bat, a spokesperson said.
He then approached officers and grabbed the bat with both hands, leading officers to open fire.
Our News Outlet has contacted the LAPD for comment.
