The San Bernardino County DA’s Office releases its review of the arrest of Dante Parker, whose family has filed a federal lawsuit.
Family man: Parker is survived by his wife, four daughters (photo) and one son
Mr Parker was employed as a pressman at the Victorville Daily Press, where his co-workers reacted with shock to allegations that the man tried to break into someone’s home.
‘Dante was a good man, a family man who just wanted to provide the best he could for his wife and kids,’ his supervisor, Harry Pontius, stated to NBC Los Angeles.
The repeated use of a stun gun on a suspect who died shortly after his arrest a year ago was a justified use of force against a man who would not stop struggling with sheriff’s deputies, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office has concluded.googleoff: all
A coroner’s investigation found that Dante Parker, 36, of Victorville, died of acute intoxication by the hallucinogenic drug PCP, with hypertensive cardiovascular disease and obesity being contributing factors.googleoff: all
His family, however, has filed a wrongful death and civil rights violation lawsuit, claiming he was overcome by the effects of 25-27 shocks from a stun gun.googleoff: all
Supervising Deputy District Attorney Britt P. Imes said the District Attorney’s Office is not a party to the lawsuit, so he would not comment on the plaintiffs’ claims. He noted that the number of times the stun gun was discharged “was not part of our analysis” into whether deputies were justified in their use of force.googleoff: all
The DA’s Office reviews all officer-involved deaths that occur in the county to determine whether the force was justified, or whether the officers should be held criminally liable. The report on Parker’s case was released Monday, Aug. 24.googleoff: all
Parker died Aug. 12, 2014, at a hospital soon after fighting with deputies, who used stun guns to try to subdue him during an arrest on suspicion of attempted burglary.googleoff: all
A deputy was sent out to investigate two 911 calls regarding a man trying to enter someone’s home on Luna Road in Victorville, picking roses in the front yard, talking to himself and appearing intoxicated on drugs.googleoff: all
The DA’s report concluded that Parker — who was 5-foot-10 and 274 pounds — physically resisted the deputy and a sheriff’s explorer who grabbed his arm “and tried to convince him to not make the situation worse,” according to the report. Sheriff’s explorers are youths involved in a law enforcement mentorship program.googleoff: all
The explorer radioed for help and a sergeant arrived. When Parker continued to physically resist being handcuffed, the sergeant ordered the deputy to deploy her stun gun, according to the report. It appeared to have no effect on Parker, so the deputy shot a second set of darts at him.googleoff: all
Additionally, both the deputy and sergeant “drive stunned” him — a technique where the device is applied directly to a person. Still, the report said, Parker resisted until other deputies arrived and were able to subdue him.googleoff: all
“The ineffectiveness of the use of the (stun gun) demonstrates the difficulty Mr. Parker posed to the lawful exertion of force and demonstrated the continued need to use escalated force,” the report concluded. The use of force was “legally justifiable to detain and arrest the suspect.”googleoff: all
The lawsuit claims Parker was stunned by San Bernardino County sheriff’s Deputy Kristy Irwin and one or more unidentified deputies “collectively, between 25 and 27 times until such time as he collapsed, incapacitated and over come by the effect.”googleoff: all
The suit alleges he was hog-tied and complained of difficulty breathing in the near 100-degree weather. Later at a hospital, where he was taken to be evaluated because of the stun gun use, he stopped breathing and could not be revived.googleoff: all
The DA’s report notes his body temperature reached 106 degrees at the hospital. It says he was hobbled after he was arrested to stop him from kicking the deputies.googleoff: all
At least nine deputies, a sergeant, six witnesses and medical personnel were interviewed as part of the review. The document said names of involved law enforcement officers were not included in the public report “as a result of security concerns for the officers and their families.”googleoff: all
Imes, the prosecutor, said there was no direct or indirect threat, but there had been protests in Victorville after the incident. “There was no need to draw attention to that given the already high-profile nature of the incident,” he said.googleoff: all
The lawsuit specifically named Deputy Irwin. Earlier this month, a federal judge signed an order to add the names of eight more sheriff’s deputies as defendants: Richard Rees, Victor Ruiz, Derrick Alatorre, Jonathon Anderson, Mark Chavez, Harmony Pruett, Felix Arreola and Jeffrey Dean.googleoff: all
The incident gained national notoriety in December when Jon Stewart, then host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” listed Parker’s death as among controversial shooting deaths of unarmed black men.googleoff: all
San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos released a video in which he objected that Stewart mischaracterized the circumstances of Parker’s death, and Stewart apologized on the show.