![](https://davisvanguard.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Shayne-Sutherland-sm.png)
On October 8, 2020, Shayne Sutherland, 29, died in a manner similar to George Floyd, with a police officer on his back, handcuffed, yelling, “I can’t breathe,” and calling out for his Momma.
He had called 911 the morning of October 8, 2020. While being questioned in front of a store, Shayne jumped up after hearing a noise, only to be tackled by law enforcement. After close to three minutes of forceful pressure on Shayne’s back, while Shayne was lying face down on the concrete, unarmed, handcuffed, in the prone position, he was in distress and could no longer communicate.
The family is alleging that two Stockton Police officers “used excessive force on an unarmed and handcuffed man, applying full body weight pressure and a police baton to the prone victim’s neck, shoulders and back, resulting in restraint asphyxiation.”
Civil Rights Attorney James DeSimone said “Shayne’s unnecessary death is another result of the SPD’s unconstitutional practice of using improper restraint and excessive force.”
He added, “At the time he was killed, Shayne was unarmed, handcuffed, in the prone position, not resisting, and posing no harm to anyone. Still, while he pleaded for his life, at least one police officer used his full body weight to literally crush the breath out of him. This violates well-established law enforcement standards and training, and the United States Constitution. This has to stop.”
Joining Everyday Injustice is Shayne’s mother, Karen Sutherland and the family’s attorney, Civil Rights Attorney James DeSimone.
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