Pubdate: Sun, 30 Nov 2002
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2002 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Yomi S. Wronge, Mercury News

Family Claims Police Killed Man

HAYWARD RESIDENT DIES IN CUSTODY

It's too soon to tell what killed Gregory Lewis -- drugs, alcohol, or the 
beating and restraint his family contends he received at the hands of 
Hayward police early Thanksgiving morning.

About 5 a.m. Thursday, three Hayward officers responded to a disturbance 
call at a Motel 6. They encountered Lewis, a 40-year-old father of three, 
in his underwear beneath a stairwell. They tried to coax him out. When that 
failed, they called for backup to subdue the 6-foot-2, 210-pound man.

"He seemed agitated and confrontational," said Capt. Raul Valdivia, who 
added that officers believed he was on drugs. "He wouldn't listen to verbal 
commands."

Ten officers arrived, including one supervisor who had "the wrap," a device 
that keeps suspects immobile.

According to Valdivia, officers used pepper spray on Lewis -- an asthma 
sufferer -- beat him about the legs with batons and handcuffed him. All the 
while, Valdivia said, Lewis was screaming and thrashing.

Immediately after restraining him, officers checked Lewis' vital signs. He 
didn't have a pulse. Paramedics were called and Lewis was taken to a nearby 
hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival at 6:07 a.m.

Lewis is the third Bay Area man in fewer than six months to die after being 
restrained with the device -- and at least the fifth in 18 months.

Michael Lewis told the Mercury News on Friday that he believes police 
killed his younger brother.

"You always figure police are there to protect and serve," Michael Lewis 
said, "but sometimes they turn out to be the criminal."

Police contend they delivered blows only to Lewis' legs, but coroner's 
photos of the man obtained by the family and given to the Mercury News show 
extensive swelling and bruising over nearly all of his face and head.

Lt. Gary Branson said Lewis banged his own head on rocks while he was face 
down.

"None of the officers have said they hit this guy in the head on accident 
or intentionally," Branson said, adding that witnesses are still being 
interviewed.

Both the Hayward Police Investigations Division and the Office of Ethical 
Standards are looking into the case.

Valdivia said the officers involved are taking the death hard -- "so hard 
that we have a psyche debriefing scheduled for Monday."

The wrap consists of a nylon sheath with Velcro straps. It is used to 
restrain a physically violent person's legs. For the safety of a suspect, 
the San Jose Police Department has a policy that the person must be sitting 
upright before the device is applied.

Hayward police said they put the wrap on Lewis while he was on the ground. 
Valdivia later said Lewis was sitting up.

Earlier this month, a 39-year-old Redwood City man died in the back of a 
police car after being pepper-sprayed and restrained by the wrap. That 
death is under investigation.

On June 26, Santa Clara police were applying handcuffs to a 43-year-old 
Sunnyvale man, when he reportedly became combative, then fell and hit his 
head on the ground. Officers applied the wrap, and the man lost 
consciousness and later died. The case also is still under investigation.

In September 2001, a man who was kicked out of a McDonald's restaurant for 
harassing people died after a brief scuffle with San Jose police officers. 
The man lost consciousness after police applied the wrap. Police were 
cleared in the case.

In May 2001, a 29-year-old San Jose man who had created a disturbance 
inside a grocery store lost consciousness as police applied the wrap. The 
coroner's office determined police didn't use excessive force.

Lewis' friends and family described him as an outgoing, jovial guy who 
liked to party and sometimes drank to excess but was never violent.

The family was notified of his death at 3 p.m. Thursday, just as they were 
sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner. Lewis worked as a shipping supervisor 
at Papercraft Inc. in Union City. A native of Hayward, he is survived by 
two sons, ages 14 and 2, and a 3-month-old daughter.

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Mercury News Staff Writer Matthai Chakko Kuruvila contributed to this report. 
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