Darryl Mefferd
Darryl Mefferd, 49, was a former pastor and aspiring chef who had moved back to Vallejo to care for his mother, and his family says he had no injuries before he was taken into police custody. On December 8, 2016, Vallejo police officer Jeremy Callinan held him facedown in handcuffs on a sidewalk outside a Fairfield mental health crisis center, where officers were taking him after he was placed in protective custody outside a hospital. Body camera footage shows him saying "I can't breathe" before he went motionless, and according to the reports, CPR did not begin until Fairfield officers arrived several minutes later. The Solano County Coroner's Office ruled the death an accident caused by methamphetamine, but a forensic pathologist who reviewed the records said prone restraint caused it and would have ruled it a homicide. His family's federal civil rights lawsuit is ongoing, and no one has been charged.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed; neglect alleged). The Solano County coroner ruled it an accident from methamphetamine intoxication, but his family's federal lawsuit and a forensic pathologist who reviewed the records say Vallejo officer Jeremy Callinan held him facedown in handcuffs, and that CPR did not begin until Fairfield officers arrived several minutes later.
Reported by: Solano County Coroner's Office (medical examiner or coroner); his family's federal civil rights lawsuit (family or their lawyers); forensic pathologist who reviewed the records.
Lawsuit: His family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit over his death, and the case is ongoing with no amount reported.