Police Body Cam Footage Released: Indio In-Custody Death

INDIO, CA — Indio police Wednesday released store surveillance and body camera footage detailing the moments leading up to the death of a 41-year-old Indio man while in police custody.

Jose Albert Lizarraga Garcia was pronounced dead on the afternoon of Jan. 22 in the parking lot of Cardenas Market.

Officers were sent to the market at 82266 Highway 111 about 4:30 p.m. after receiving multiple calls of "a man entering businesses, exhibiting bizarre behavior and possibly on drugs," according to the Indio Police Department.

"There's this big absolute crazy guy running around with no shirt on," said a man who was one of at least two people to call 911 about the incident. "You got a lot of scared citizens here...he's running all over like a methamphetamine freak."

Store surveillance footage from the nearly 20-minute video posted to the department's YouTube page included various scenes from three nearby businesses Garcia entered that afternoon.

At a Metro PCS store, he can be seen pacing around, snatching a bottle of cleaning solution and adjusting the thermostat before departing.

Customer cellphone footage from Cardenas Market shows Garcia rolling around shirtless near a checkstand before rolling out the front doors. According to the police body camera footage, a store employee told police he was throwing items in the store, and that he began hitting the front doors once they locked him out.

The body camera footage shows the first two police officers who arrived at the scene approached Garcia in the parking lot. After several failed attempts to stop him, one officer can be seen tackling him. At the time they said he became "combative." It was not clear whether Garcia attempted to run away. At least a half-dozen officers eventually responded to subdue him.

Once on the ground, Garcia can be seen yelling and erratically fidgeting around. Police said Garcia spit at the officers while they were attempting to handcuff him, prompting officers to place a mesh spit mask on him.

A spit mask — sometimes also called a spit hood — is a device used by police made of a loose, breathable fabric sack and placed over a person's face to prevent them from expelling bodily fluids and exposing officers to disease.

"Be gentle about it," a female officer can be heard telling one of her male colleagues after he placed the spit mask on Garcia. Several of the officers then briefly laughed while other officers worked to place a leg restraint on him that police called "the wrap."

"The back support and front strap on the restraint is designed to maintain an open airway on a subject for safety," police said regarding the device.

Once the spit bag and leg restraint were firmly in place, Garcia was taken to a patrol car, which was bound for JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio, police said.

"Moments later, an officer noticed Mr. Garcia was unresponsive," police said.

Garcia was then taken out of the car so officers could help resuscitate him before paramedics arrived on scene.

"I don't feel a pulse, we may have to take his cuffs off," an officer can be heard saying in the body camera footage.

Despite first responders' attempts to save him, Garcia was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said Wednesday that the man's autopsy results had not been completed. Police said he suffered a "medical emergency" at the time, but an official cause of death has not been publicly released.

In cellphone footage obtained by KESQ-TV, Garcia can be heard saying "I can't breath" at some point during the incident. Police body camera footage shows police officers asking Garcia if he can breath at several times during the prolonged engagement while he was face down on the pavement.

Garcia's daughter, Tyanna Lizarraga, told the station the family intends to file a lawsuit against the department.

In a prepared statement at the time of Garcia's death, Indio Police Department Chief Mike Washburn urged the public "to be patient with us and our partner agencies."

"These are complex and highly technical investigations that take a considerable amount of time to get a definitive answer as to what occurred," he said.

The death is being investigated by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department Force Investigations Detail in conjunction with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.