Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has charged seven California Highway Patrol officers and a registered nurse with the death of 38-year-old Edward Bronstein.
"For the system to work, people must be able to trust law enforcement. Police accountability is critical to building that trust, and it is necessary for public safety," District Attorney Gascón said. "I promise Mr. Bronstein's family and our community that I will continue to advocate for stronger accountability in use-of-force cases and an independent review of deaths that occur while in law enforcement custody."
The seven officers were each charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of assault by an officer: Dionisio Fiorella (dob 11/11/83), Michael Little (dob 6/7/65), Dustin Osmanson (dob 6/4/81), Darren Parsons (dob 10/17/74), Diego Romero (dob 2/8/88), Justin Silva (dob 10/20/92), and Marciel Terry (dob 7/15/90). Nurse Arbi Baghalian (dob 5/16/80) was also charged with involuntary manslaughter. The case is BA513628.
Arraignment will be scheduled for a later date.
On March 31, 2020, Bronstein was driving on Interstate 5 in Burbank when Officers Osmanson and Terry pulled him over for suspected driving under the influence. The officers then took Bronstein to a nearby CHP parking lot and obtained a warrant to draw his blood. Bronstein initially refused the blood draw, but then agreed to comply as officers pushed him to the ground.
Six officers are accused of forcing a handcuffed Bronstein to the ground and pinning him down as Baghalian drew his blood. While pinned down, Bronstein repeatedly told officers he could not breathe. As the blood draw continued, Bronstein became unresponsive. He was kept facedown for approximately six more minutes.
Approximately 10 minutes after he became unresponsive, the officers attempted CPR, but Bronstein never regained consciousness and was later pronounced dead.
The case remains under investigation by CHP.
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