Dujuan Armstrong's Death: Dublin Jail Video Released

DUBLIN, CA — Video footage of an inmate who died after being restrained at Dublin's Santa Rita Jail has been released by the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. The more than 47-minute-long video from a police Axon Body 2 camera shows 23-year-old Dujuan Armstrong — who was handcuffed behind his back — being further restrained in a body wrap and a spit mask during a struggle with deputies at the jail. The footage is dated June 24, 2018.

The Alameda County Coroner's Bureau ruled Armstrong's death was caused by asphyxiation, according to a report released by the county district attorney's office.

In an emailed statement Thursday, Sgt. Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office said, "This was a very unfortunate and unforeseen circumstance. There was no malice or intent to harm Dujuan Armstrong and our officers were cleared of any criminal wrong doing. We have since removed the body wrap device from our jail and instituted new policies and monitoring procedures to avoid anything like this in the future."

In the video several officers attempt to calm a handcuffed Armstrong as they escort him from cell T25 to another part of the jail. Armstrong appeared to struggle during walk down long jail corridors. The video shows Armstrong on the ground when the extra restraints were put on him by deputies.

Armstrong told deputies he had taken "a little coke, weed, alcohol, a script" when they questioned him about any drugs he was on, the video shows.

About 14 minutes into the footage, a very-still Armstrong is moved to a gurney, and at least one nurse begins to evaluate him, taking his vitals. She eventually reports, "I'm not hearing anything."

At about 20 minutes into the video, jail personnel begin life-saving attempts, and Alameda County Fire Department paramedics arrive on scene and continue working on Armstrong. The video ends at 47:16 minutes.

Armstrong was taken to Stanford Valley Care in Pleasanton, where he was pronounced dead, but his death was not publicly disclosed right away. Kelly said it was because "there are a lot of unknowns we need to resolve and investigate."

Sheriff's officials followed protocols and told the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, the district attorney's office and the coroner's bureau about his death, Kelly said. Armstrong had been convicted of burglary for an offense in Fremont but was considered a low-level offender and was allowed to serve his jail time on weekends, Kelly said.

When Armstrong came to Santa Rita on the night of June 22, which was a Friday, he was "agitated, aggressive and uncooperative," according to Kelly.

A nurse who examined a sample of Armstrong's urine found it contained controlled substances, Kelly said.

The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights has been working with Dujuan’s mother, Barbara Doss, who pushed for the video's release.

WARNING: The following video contains disturbing content and adult language.