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August 19, 2016

Video of Man's Death in LAPD Custody Surfaces After 4 Years
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In Los Angeles, video has emerged of police choking 56-year-old
African-American man Vachel Howard shortly before he died. The
department has suppressed the release of the video. Howard died in an
LAPD jail in 2012. The video shows the grandfather of seven handcuffed
to a bench after having been strip-searched. Howard was arrested on
suspicion of driving while intoxicated. The video does not show how the
altercation between Howard and officers began, but does show six
officers pinning Howard to the ground before he died. It also shows them
laughing as he lay motionless on the ground before medical help arrives.
A coroner listed three causes of death for Howard: cocaine intoxication,
heart disease and the chokehold used by officer Juan Romero. Romero was
suspended for 22 days, but prosecutors decided not to press charges
against him. In 2015, the city of Los Angeles agreed to pay Howard's
family nearly $3 million to settle a wrongful death claim.
Topics:Police Brutality

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