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Doug Martin’s Parents File Federal Lawsuit Against Oakland, Officers and Paramedics

The suit asks a federal court to force release of records and test claims that officer restraint led to restrained asphyxia with paramedics arriving too late to help.

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Collage of Doug Martin in a Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey, one standing and one running with a football.

Overview

  • The family filed a federal civil rights and wrongful-death complaint in U.S. District Court on Tuesday, alleging excessive force by five Oakland officers and naming Falck Northern California as the ambulance provider.
  • Their lawyers say an independent pathologist preliminarily found 'restrained asphyxia' after officers allegedly held Martin face down and pressed on his back before he became unresponsive, while the Alameda County coroner’s autopsy and toxicology results remain pending.
  • The complaint accuses Falck paramedics of arriving more than 15 minutes after the call for service and failing to provide prompt medical care on arrival, a claim the family says contributed to Martin’s death.
  • Martin’s parents seek damages for wrongful death, loss of support and related costs and plan to use the lawsuit to obtain bodycam footage, coroner files and other records the family says have not been produced.
  • The case links questions about police restraint in mental‑health crises, emergency medical response times and possible brain injury from contact sports, and it could increase scrutiny of how law enforcement and EMS handle such calls.