Inconsistent expert statements lead to dismissal of charges against Officer Eric McKinley
Prosecutors from the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office Public Accountability Unit (PAU) dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charge on Friday, December 20, against Eric McKinley, the remaining City of Alameda police officer involved in the 2021 death of Mario Gonzalez. The PAU cited inconsistent statements made under penalty of perjury by a key forensic pathology expert.
The DA’s Office issued a statement declaring that the decision to dismiss the charge against Officer Eric McKinley was a direct result of statements made by Dr. Bennett Omalu, who was the forensic pathology expert on the cause of death for the Gonzalez family in their civil case against the City, police department, and officers McKinley, James Fisher, and Cameron Leahy.
Gonzalez died in police custody on April 19, 2021, while being detained by officers McKinley, Fisher, and Leahy. The initial autopsy conducted by the Alameda County Coroner’s Office determined that methamphetamine toxicity caused death. However, a second autopsy performed by Omalu concluded that the cause of death was “restraint asphyxiation.”
Prosecutors said that while Omalu did not change his ultimate opinion on the cause of death, he filed a motion to quash a subpoena compelling him to appear in court to testify in the criminal case, and in it, he wrote and signed a declaration under penalty of perjury that was inconsistent with his sworn deposition in the civil case. This led the District Attorney’s Office to conclude they could not meet their burden of proving Officer McKinley committed involuntary manslaughter beyond a reasonable doubt.
Prosecutors said that another possible expert witness on the cause of death for the prosecution relied on Omalu for review, requiring Dr. Omalu to testify. But prosecutors said Omalu would more than likely have been impeached if they had called him to testify.
On October 7, Judge Scott Patton dismissed charges against Officers Leahy and Fisher, the two other Alameda police officers involved in the involuntary manslaughter case of Mario Gonzalez. The dismissal was due to a timing technicality, as the arrest warrant was not filed within the legal timeframe. Patton criticized the Alameda County DA’s office for filing the charging documents and warrant in a “rushed and careless” manner, jeopardizing the prosecution of the case.