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The autopsy results were among the evidence reviewed by a grand jury that found police bore no responsibility for the death of Jose Gonzalez, 41, on Oct. 2, 2021, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced on Monday, Dec. 5.
Police body camera video previously released by Platkin's office showed Gonzalez writhing uncontrollably, falling down and then going limp while being handcuffed by Paterson police that fateful day.
His shorts were soaked in blood. Blood smears also stained the door and sides of the home.
“I lost his pulse,” a city EMT firefighter tells the officers after they lift Gonzalez's body onto a gurney.
“CPR?” one asks.
They then remove the cuffs, turn him onto his back and begin chest compressions as the footage ends.
Gonzalez, of Paterson, was pronounced dead at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center less than an hour later, authorities said.
State law and his own guidelines required Platkin's office to investigate because the death involved an interaction with police.
THE VIDEO IS POSTED HERE (WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT): Jose Gonzalez/Paterson (NJ Attorney General's Office)
City police received two 911 calls from the 600 block of Madison Avenue at 5:26 p.m. Oct. 2 "regarding a male dressed in pajamas on Madison Avenue in Paterson who was jumping between the roofs of residences and broke a window to enter a home," Platkin said.
Responding officers found Gonzalez on the ground, "with visible cuts and blood on his hands and arms, at the exterior rear of the residence," the attorney general said.
"The officers called for medical assistance," he added. "Shortly thereafter, Gonzalez began flailing his arms and speaking incoherently.
"Over the next 12 minutes, Gonzalez repeatedly flailed his arms, hit himself in the chest and face, and punched the exterior of the residence," Platkin said.
"He then kicked backwards and opened the resident’s rear basement door and stumbled into the residence," the attorney general said. "The officers immediately removed him from the residence and handcuffed him to allow EMTs to safely render medical aid.
"Gonzalez was transported to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center and was pronounced deceased shortly after his arrival."
An investigation by his office was done “in a full, impartial and transparent manner," Platkin said.
The review included an autopsy by the New Jersey Medical Examiner's Office, which ruled the cause of death "acute drug toxicity" and the manner of death an accident.
Grand jurors, after reviewing all the evidence, found no wrongdoing on the part of police and issued a "no bill," Platkin said.
ALL OF THE RECORDINGS ARE POSTED HERE (WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT):
BODYCAM FOOTAGE, 911 CALLS, RADIO COMMUNICATIONS (Jose Gonzalez, 41, Paterson)
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