Three City of Alameda Police Officers Charged by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office’s Public Accountability Unit for the In-Custody Death of Mario Gonzalez
April 18, 2024
Oakland, CA— Today, the conclusion of an extensive review of the in-custody death of Mario Gonzalez by prosecutors with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office’s (ACDAO) Public Accountability Unit ends with involuntary manslaughter charges filed against three City of Alameda Police Officers; Eric McKinley, James Fisher and Cameron Leahy.
On April 19, 2021, the three Alameda police officers responded to a call involving a man behaving oddly in a public park on the 800 block of Oak Street. Subsequently, the officers learned that Mr. Gonzalez was a suspect in a shoplifting incident and attempted to detain him. He later died at that scene. An initial autopsy attributed Mr. Gonzalez’s death to “Toxic effects of methamphetamine” and as “other significant conditions contributing to death,” identified “Physiological stress of altercation and restraint; Morbid obesity; alcoholism.”
In 2021, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office opened an investigation into potential police misconduct by the three officers. That investigation, ending in 2022, cleared the officers of any criminal liability for his death. In 2023, the ACDAO Public Accountability Unit reopened and re-examined the case. A second autopsy attributed Mr. Gonzalez’s death to “a result of Restraint Asphyxiation.”
Today, the following charges were filed: Officers Eric McKinley, James Fisher, and Cameron Leahy were charged with violations of Penal Code section 192(b) (involuntary manslaughter).
Contact: damedia@acgov.org
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office (DAO) is one of California’s largest prosecutors’ offices and is led by Alameda County’s first Black woman District Attorney Pamela Y. Price. Price brings her vision to this office to fairly administer justice in the pursuit of thriving, healthy, and safe communities for every person who steps foot in Alameda County, no matter their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, income, or zip code. Price has been recognized as one of the most progressive prosecutors through her forward-thinking, innovative strategies to interrupt cycles of violence and crime and bring change to a criminal justice system rooted in systemic racism. Follow Madam DA on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and @AlamedaCountyda on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.