Los Angeles prosecutors have charged seven California Highway Patrol officers and a nurse with involuntary manslaughter in the 2020 death of motorist Edward Bronstein, who was arrested on the suspicion of drunken driving but died after officers restrained him to facilitate a court-ordered blood draw, NBC News reports.
After Bronstein was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, he was taken to a CHP station, but refused to submit to a blood draw. After a judge issued a warrant to get the blood drawn, six officers and a sergeant held Bronstein down while the nurse drew the blood sample. In 18 minutes of body cam footage, Bronstein repeatedly tells officers that he can’t breath as he struggles, which prompts the officers to press down on him more. Bronstein then goes silent, and six minutes pass before anyone checks on him; he had stopped breathing and his skin was ashen.