'Please let me breathe': Stockton to pay $6M to family of man who died during 2020 arrest

The city of Stockton has agreed to settle a $6 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Shayne Allen Sutherland, a 29-year-old man who died after being restrained by police officers in 2020.

"This settlement by the city of Stockton in no way will ever bring my son back," Karen Sutherland, the man's mother, said. "I can only hope that with this, some major changes will be made and implemented within the city of Stockton and their police department, and they start holding their officers accountable."

'Please let me breathe'

On Oct. 8, 2020, officers John Afanasiev and Ronald Zalunardo were called to an ARCO gas station in north Stockton. A 911 caller had reported that a man was inside the store harassing customers and threatening to throw a bottle of wine at an employee, according to police.

When Afanasiev and Zalunardo arrived on the scene, they found Sutherland inside the store and asked him to go outside, to which he complied.

In body-worn camera footage provided by police, Sutherland was asked whether he had taken drugs. Sutherland, who was sitting on the ground, admitted that he used cocaine earlier that morning. He then jumped up and attempted to run away, but was tackled and handcuffed by police.

One officer held Sutherland down with his body while the other officer used a control hold, and pressed a baton against Sutherland's shoulder to hold him down. At one point, Sutherland told Afanasiev and Zalunardo, "Please let me breathe."

While on the ground, Sutherland screamed as the officers repeatedly told him to "calm down," "knock it off," and "relax."

Near the end of the video, Sutherland can be heard saying, “I’m f---ing dead.” He continued to cry and yell before one officer said, “Hey, he’s turning colors.”

Sutherland stopped breathing and was unhandcuffed, according to police. One of the officers then started life-saving measures on him. Paramedics were called and took Sutherland to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead in an emergency room less than an hour later.

Sutherland left behind an 8-year-old son and a 7-year-old daughter, and three stepchildren. Sutherland's mother said that his son now wears a keychain with a photo of his father, and his daughter questions why her father died so young.

"They shouldn't have to grow up like this," Sutherland's mother said. "They shouldn't have to grow up without a father. He was a good father."

Attorney claims police hadn't received proper training

At an April 11 press conference announcing the settlement, civil rights attorney V. James DeSimone alleged that Stockton police officers hadn't received proper training on restraints.

"Instead of acting to preserve the life of Shayne Sutherland in October 2020, they handcuffed him, they kept him face-down in a prone position for a period of over eight minutes," DeSimone said.

A 1995 U.S. Department of Justice bulletin warned that face-down restraints — also known as prone restraints — can lead to positional asphyxia or death as a result of a body position that interferes with one’s ability to breathe.

The attorney also noted that Sutherland's death occurred five months after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer under similar circumstances.

"We had all watched a man die on television or on our tablets. It was well known that if you kept pressure on someone and did not allow them to breathe, that they could die," DeSimone said. "Shayne was turning colors. Shayne was begging for his life. Shayne was lapsing in and out of consciousness and these officers kept him prone, using batons, using body weights, using their legs to keep him pressed down on the ground, literally begging for his life."

In a preliminary autopsy, the San Joaquin County Medical Examiner’s Office concluded that “there was no inflicted trauma or injuries to the decedent that caused his death."

However, DeSimone said that an independent autopsy by Dr. Bennet Omalu concluded that Sutherland's death was a result of positional asphyxia.

"That is the reason why the city of Stockton resolved this case for $6 million," DeSimone said. "It shows that there's accountability. It shows that they know that they acted wrongly in causing the death of Shayne Sutherland."

In California, a law that became effective in 2022 — Assembly Bill 490 — bans police from using maneuvers that put people at significant risk of positional asphyxia.

Despite this, the Stockton Police Department said that terms such as positional asphyxia "continue to remain the subject of debate among experts and medical professionals" and "are not universally recognized medical conditions" in an updated use-of-force policy that became effective on March 11.

"While it is impractical to restrict an officer's use of reasonable control methods when attempting to restrain a combative individual, officers are not authorized to use any restraint or transportation method which might unreasonably impair an individual's breathing or respiratory capacity for a period beyond the point when the individual has been adequately and safely controlled," the policy states. "Once the individual is safely secured, officers should promptly check and continuously monitor the individual's condition for signs of medical distress."

Officers still on the job

Officers Afanasiev and Zalunardo are still employed by the Stockton Police Department, according to police spokesman David Scott.

The department declined to comment on whether Afanasiev and Zalunardo were disciplined after Sutherland's death.

"We do not comment on any personnel matters," Scott said.

In a statement, the Stockton Police Department said it sympathizes and recognizes that any loss of life is a tragedy that has a lasting effect.

"We are dedicated to educating and training our officers while collaborating with community partner organizations to best serve the community," the statement said. "By prioritizing training and education initiatives, the Stockton Police Department ensures that officers are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and expertise necessary to uphold public safety and maintain community trust."

Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Family of Shayne Sutherland to get $6M after he died in police custody