Fil-Am veteran with mental health issues dies after police knelt on his neck

Fil-Am victim Angelo Quinto. Photo: Law office of John Burris/handout
Fil-Am victim Angelo Quinto. Photo: Law office of John Burris/handout

A 30-year-old Filipino-American from Antioch, California is dead after the police kneeled on the back of his neck when they tried to subdue him during a mental health episode, several media reported early this week.

Angelo Quinto, a Navy veteran who was born in the Philippines, had a mental health crisis on Dec. 23, spurring his sister to call the police for help. When the police arrived in his home, Quinto was holding on to his mother Maria Quinto-Collins, and refused to let her go.

The cops allegedly didn’t try to understand the situation and immediately grabbed Quinto from his mother. They allegedly pinned Quinto to the floor and knelt on the back of his neck for several minutes, and he passed out after.

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A video shared by Quinto-Collins showed her son lying unconscious on the floor, with blood oozing out of his mouth. His body was then carried out of the home by the police.

He was brought to a hospital, where he died three days later.




In a wrongful death suit filed on Feb. 18, Quinto’s family said that he had been “suffering from anxiety, depression, and paranoia for the previous few months.” His lawyer, John L. Burris, said that the police were not wearing body cameras when they took Quinto from his home.

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“These Antioch police officers had already handcuffed Angelo but did not stop their assault on the young man and inexplicably began using the ‘George Floyd’ technique of placing a knee on the back and side of his neck, ignoring Mr. Quinto pleas of ‘please don’t kill me,'” Burris said in a press conference.

The Antioch police have yet to issue a press statement regarding Quinto’s death, and the official reason behind it has yet to be made public by the coroner’s office. Meanwhile, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office is investigating the incident.



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