Parents of Former Star Running Back Blame Cops for His Death

The parents of former All-Pro NFL running back Doug Martin say excessive force by police and delayed medical care led to his death last year, according to a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Oakland, California, several police officers, and an ambulance company. In the lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court, Leslie and Douglas Martin say their 36-year-old son was experiencing a mental health crisis in October when responding Oakland police officers held him "face down while one or more officers pressed on his back." The lawsuit alleges this restraint was a "substantial factor" in causing his death, the AP reports. "The family is very much interested in finding out what happened to their son," said attorney John Burris. "Unfortunately the litigation is a mechanism to best get that done."

Over a decade, more than 1,000 people have died across the country after police subdued them through means not intended to be lethal, such as physical holds, Tasers, and body blows, an investigation led by the AP found. That includes George Floyd, whose murder by a police officer in 2020 led to a national reckoning over law enforcement's use of force, especially against Black people. Police said in a statement at the time of Martin's death that he was involved in a break-in and that a "brief struggle" happened as police were trying to detain him and he became unresponsive. The department did not release any other details.

Oakland police released several minutes of officers' body camera footage and 911 calls in March. In the video, officers called Martin by name. The officers and Martin struggle briefly and then he is physically restrained face down. There are several minutes not shown in the released video. The complaint alleges that Martin was later turned onto his side and was unresponsive and says officers initially thought he was "sleeping or pretending to be." They only requested medical assistance after he remained unresponsive, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit also accuses Falck USA, Inc. and its subsidiary Falck Northern California Corp.'s paramedics of taking more than 15 minutes to respond to the call and not promptly providing medical care after they arrived.