Jason Gomez
Jason Jesus Gomez was a 35-year-old construction worker from Anaheim and the father of a one-year-old daughter; his brother said, "All he wanted was to get everything cleared up and just move on with his life and see his kid." He was held at the Orange County Intake and Release Center on March 25, 2008, where, according to the sheriff's account, he attacked a nurse and deputies subdued him with force and a Taser. The sheriff's office said he stopped breathing, and he fell into a coma and was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where his family chose to remove him from life support on April 1, 2008. His father and attorney Stephen Bernard say deputies killed him, and the Orange County District Attorney's Office and an independent jail watchdog are investigating, with autopsy results pending.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed). Family and their attorney Stephen Bernard say Orange County deputies killed him, while the sheriff's account says he was subdued with force and a Taser after attacking a nurse; the District Attorney's Office and an independent jail watchdog are investigating, and the family says they were kept in the dark about how he was injured.
Reported by: Orange County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); brother John Caresio (family or their lawyers); father Jose Gomez (family or their lawyers); attorney Stephen Bernard (family or their lawyers).