Ramon Lopez: Phoenix cops held schizophrenic man on hot asphalt for six minutes before he died, shows bodycam
PHOENIX, ARIZONA: A man was reportedly held by police officers on hot asphalt for six minutes earlier this month and died during a struggle with police while being arrested, reports state. The autopsy and toxicology reports of 28-year-old Ramon Timothy Lopez are currently pending. Shortly after many raised concerns over the nature of Lopez's death as he died in police custody, authorities have released bodycam and surveillance footage of the day of his arrest.
The video has now raised concerns among civil rights advocates as it shows officers grappling with Lopez on the street as he resists arrest. The attorney for the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Ben Crump, also expressed his outrage at the incident on Twitter, writing: "AGAIN? Phoenix officers pinned down Ramon Timothy Lopez, who suffers from schizophrenia, on the scorching hot pavement... where he soon went unresponsive and DIED. Another failure of Phoenix PD to serve and protect! When will officers learn that excessive force is ALWAYS wrong?!" The temperature on the day of Lopez's arrest at 10:30 AM in Phoenix was 99 degrees, and asphalt or blacktop can reach 40 to 60 degrees hotter than the atmospheric temperature.
AGAIN? Phoenix officers pinned down Ramon Timothy Lopez, who suffers from schizophrenia, on the scorching hot pavement... where he soon went unresponsive and DIED. Another failure of Phoenix PD to serve and protect! When will officers learn that excessive force is ALWAYS wrong?! pic.twitter.com/oH6VlnkV8K
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) August 15, 2020
The incident occurred on the morning of August 4 near 51st Avenue and Indian School Road when a woman called 911 about a suspicious man looking into cars and making obscene gestures. The caller said: "He's kind of acting funny, he's over there sticking his tongue out. I don't know what's wrong with him." The woman also told the dispatcher that he was wearing ripped shorts and was "holding his private parts."
When the first officer arrived at the scene, he saw a man matching the description, who was later identified as Lopez. As the officer approached Lopez in his car, the 28-year-old began running through the parking lot before tripping onto the sidewalk. Lopez then appeared to fix his shoes, stood up and ran across the street, according to surveillance footage. He then entered a convenience store and stole a drink from inside, according to the Daily Mail. The officer, however, drove up to him as he was leaving the store. This prompted Lopez to throw some of the drink onto the officer and ran away into traffic on 51st Avenue. He reportedly continued to throw the drink on the officer as the latter chased him and tackled him on the roadway.
As the officer tried to arrest Lopez, two more cops arrived to assist him. The three officers, for several minutes, struggled with the 28-year-old in an effort to restrain him and finally put handcuffs and leg restraints on him. An incident report stated that Lopez had "super strength" which made it "very difficult to gain control of him." The officers arresting Lopez reportedly believe that his arm may have broken during the struggle, however, they said that he did not show any pain when they heard his bones pop, according to the Arizona Republic.
The officers continued to hold a restrained Lopez on the hot asphalt as they called for fire personnel to give him a health check, believing that he was under the influence of illegal drugs because of his erratic behavior. Lopez's girlfriend, Evangelina Rodriguez, however, later said that he had paranoid schizophrenia, according to KNXV-TV . The cops moved Lopez to the back seat of a patrol car after over five minutes on the asphalt and drove to a nearby parking lot to wait for paramedics. It took them nearly a minute to reach there. However, when they arrived, Lopez was unresponsive in the backseat of the car.
The officers then took him out attempting to wake him up and then fire personnel took over his treatment. The 28-year-old was subsequently pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Court records show he had a history of arrests for charges including criminal damage, resisting arrest, and probation violations. Phoenix Police Professional Standards Bureau has launched an investigation into the incident along with a separate criminal investigation by the homicide unit.