Contra Costa District Attorney: No wrongdoing by Antioch police who used Taser repeatedly in 2021 death of man

MARTINEZ — Two Antioch police officers who were involved in the 2021 death of a San Francisco man in their custody were justified in their actions, according to a report by the Contra Costa County District Attorney that was released Friday.

District Attorney Diana Becton said an investigation opened by her office after the Feb. 24, 2021, death of Arturo Gomez Calel, 33, showed that “under the totality of the circumstances, the officers’ use of force was reasonable. As such, no further action will be taken in this case.”

Gomez Calel died after a struggle with police on James Donlon Boulevard. An autopsy conducted the day after his death showed that Gomez Calel had methamphetamine and amphetamine in his blood, substances that can cause cardiac arrest or circulatory collapse when taken in large doses.

According to police, Gomez Calel was agitated when two officers arrived to Lone Tree Way at Ridgerock Drive. Police dispatchers had received a call from a ride-share driver who said a man tried to steal his phone before fleeing the vehicle.

At one point, according to District Attorney spokesman Ted Asregadoo, the ride-share driver became worried that Gomez Calel would harm him and exited the vehicle. Gomez Calel tried to drive off in it, but the rideshare driver thwarted that attempt by getting a hold of the car keys. Gomez Calel next ran off.

Asregadoo said that as officers arrived to the scene, Gomez Calel backed away and told one of them, “You’re a fake cop.” Gomez Calel then ran away into traffic on Lone Tree Way as police pursued him, Asregadoo said.

He eventually tripped and fell on James Donlon Boulevard, then got into a struggle with officers when he tried to get up instead of listening to their orders to stay on the ground, Asregadoo said.

The officers used a Taser more than once to subdue the agitated Gomez Calel, and they handcuffed him, Asregadoo said. Shortly thereafter, authorities said he became unresponsive.

Dr. Arnold Josselson said at an April 29, 2022, coroner’s inquest that the methamphetamine gave rise to Gomez Calel’s aggressive behavior and that his chest muscles became so exhausted, his chest could not expand to breathe. The low oxygen levels created by the inability to breathe caused Gomez Calel to go into cardiac arrest, Josselson said.

The inquest, part of county protocol following an in-custody death, returned a verdict from a jury that the death was an accident.