Overview
- Leslie and Douglas Martin filed a federal wrongful‑death and civil‑rights complaint on Tuesday, accusing the City of Oakland, five officers and Falck paramedics of using excessive force and delaying medical care.
- The lawsuit alleges officers held Doug Martin face down and that one or more pressed on his back, a restraint the family’s independent pathologist tentatively described as restraint asphyxia.
- The complaint says officers did not request medical aid until Martin was unresponsive and that Falck paramedics arrived more than 15 minutes after the call and did not promptly provide care.
- The family has requested additional coroner testing and sent Martin’s brain to Boston University’s CTE Center, and the Alameda County coroner has not released final autopsy or toxicology results.
- Beyond seeking damages for wrongful death and related costs, the suit is designed to obtain fuller bodycam footage, medical records and official findings that the family says have not been made available, a step that could shape the independent investigation and any policy scrutiny of police restraint and EMS response.