Overview
- Brentwood police say officers responded to a family dispute on Sept. 26, that a relative requested a citizen’s arrest of Yolanda Ramirez, and that she tried to flee before being detained.
- After Ramirez was placed in a patrol car, officers reported she appeared to have a medical issue and called for EMTs; the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office is now conducting an independent review.
- The family’s claim alleges a violent arrest, including that an officer forced Ramirez to her knees, struck her head against a patrol car window, and left handcuffs so tight they injured her wrists.
- Ramirez was taken to Kaiser Antioch and then to John Muir Health in Walnut Creek for emergency surgery for a brain bleed; she was removed from life support and died on Oct. 3.
- Attorneys say police failed to disclose a head injury to medical staff and accuse the department of withholding information; the claim seeks damages exceeding $25,000 and preservation and release of evidence.