Updated: 3:15 p.m. on April 7, 2026
A lawyer for the family of Bryan Bostic, the Compton man who died last month in Inglewood police custody, says video and an autopsy show officers used excessive force when they arrested him.
Attorney Denisse Gastélum laid out the excessive force allegations in a claim filed with the city on Monday on behalf of Bostic’s mother and daughter. The claim alleges Bostic experienced a medical emergency because of “unlawful, excessive and unreasonable” force by police officers, and that officers did not get him the medical care he needed.
Video from a bystander appearing to capture Bostic’s arrest, provided by Gastélum to The LA Local, shows a police officer straddling him, pinning him to the street on his stomach. More officers rush over as Bostic’s feet kick against the pavement, and a strained voice can be heard crying out. Blue and red lights flash against a nearby wall.
The clip, filmed from behind after Bostic was already on the ground, does not show what happened leading up to his arrest.
Bostic, 37, died the night of March 10 in Inglewood police custody after a traffic stop at Hillcrest Boulevard and Nutwood Street, according to city and county officials.
In the weeks since his death, his family has held a series of vigils and demonstrations demanding the city release more information about his death and that Inglewood police begin wearing body cameras on the job.
City officials released little information for almost two weeks until Inglewood Mayor James Butts said in a March 22 statement that police arrested Bostic after a “brief struggle” and that he had stopped breathing by the time officers brought him to the city jail.
The LA County Medical Examiner’s office has yet to release the cause and manner of Bostic’s death, which remains under investigation.
Gastélum said information has remained limited and that the family has tried to cobble together the events leading to Bostic’s death using witness accounts and video footage gathered from bystanders. The city has not replied to a public records request, Gastélum said.
“Family and lawyers are forced to put the pieces together,” Gastélum said.
Read more: Use of force investigation underway after 37-year-old man’s death in Inglewood police custody
Butts said in a statement to The LA Local on Monday that the city and its police department are awaiting the findings of the medical examiner’s office and that the police department is conducting a “comprehensive internal investigation.”
The LA County District Attorney’s office also told The LA Local it is investigating Inglewood police officers’ use of force during the incident.
“We look forward to the findings of these independent investigations,” Butts wrote. “At that point, all of the facts of the stop and the circumstances surrounding this incident will be available.”
Butts said the city is currently working out the details of a contract that would supply police with body-worn cameras. He did not provide a timeline for the contract.
Family members joined the Inglewood City Council meeting Tuesday to ask the city, again, for more information. About 10 minutes into the meeting, audience members began chanting Bostic’s name and Butts abruptly adjourned the meeting.
Minutes later, though, Butts emerged into the council chamber lobby and asked family members if they wanted to speak. The group agreed and filed back into city offices.
Gastélum also said the family commissioned a second autopsy that showed officers used excessive force.
The family’s autopsy showed “significant trauma to the face, head and upper torso,” Gastélum said. The attorney said the second autopsy did not show if there were any factors in Bostic’s death besides the injuries.
Read more: Protesters demand answers at heated Inglewood City Council meeting after Bryan Bostic’s death in police custody
Butts said in the March 22 release that police detained Bostic after they observed him attempting to hide an unidentified object during a traffic stop. Butts did not say if police recovered any objects.
Police briefly struggled with Bostic before arresting him, Butts said. Officers called for LA County Fire Department paramedics to examine Bostic, who was sweating profusely and had bruising on his face, Butts said.
Butts said in his statement Monday that paramedics arrived at the scene of Bostic’s death less than three and a half minutes after being called and measured his vital signs. He did not say how long police took to call paramedics after arresting Bostic.
Police transported Bostic to the city jail, then, according to Butts, called the paramedics a second time after he was found not breathing.
The jail is located less than half a mile from the intersection where Bostic was arrested.
A spokesperson for the fire department confirmed paramedics went to both locations but declined to provide further information.
Claims for damages like the one Bostic’s family submitted to the city Monday are the first step anyone needs to take before they can sue a government agency in California. The city of Inglewood will have an opportunity to accept or deny the claim before Bostic’s family can file a lawsuit.
The family’s claim alleges that after Bostic had a medical emergency, police failed to immediately summon medical care and transported Bostic directly to the city jail instead of to a medical facility where he could have received care.
“The IPD officers’ failure to summon immediate medical care to Bryan Bostic was inhumane and was [deliberately] indifferent to his constitutional rights,” the claim reads.
