Inglewood Police Chief Mark Fronterotta elaborated last week on the events leading up to Bryan Bostic’s March 10 death in police custody.
Speaking at the Oct. 13 Inglewood City Council meeting, Fronterotta gave a rare update on what happened, including details that Bostic’s aunt Marie Darden said she was hearing for the first time. According to Fronterotta, police pulled Bostic over that night to investigate if he was driving under the influence, that he tried to run and that officers arrested him with a “minimum” use of force.
Bostic was still alert and talking when officers arrested him and took him to their vehicle, the chief said, but when they arrived at the nearby city jail, officers found Bostic had no pulse.
Darden was skeptical of Fronterotta’s presentation, saying an audio recording of the stop doesn’t line up with his description of events.
Fronterotta also alluded to Bostic’s criminal record and to the county medical examiner’s finding that Bostic died of the effects of methamphetamine.
Darden said her nephew’s history doesn’t have any bearing on whether or not he should have died in police custody.
“I don’t care if Bryan had a record or not,” she said.
Inglewood officials were slow to confirm Bostic’s passing, staying silent over a week until Mayor James Butts issued a statement on March 22. Fronterotta has seldom spoken publicly about Bostic’s death, while Butts has handled most periodic updates about the case.
Bostic’s family has continued to press for more information, contending that the actions of police and paramedics may have contributed to his death.
Some answers could eventually be on their way via investigations from the Inglewood Police Department and LA County District Attorney’s Office, along with wrongful death claims filed by the family against Inglewood police and the LA County Fire Department.
Butts said in a March 22 statement that police pulled Bostic over — he didn’t specify the reason, only that it was an investigative stop — and arrested him after a brief struggle. Paramedics responded to the scene before police drove him to the city jail five blocks away. Butts said Bostic appeared to have stopped breathing by the time he arrived at the city jail.
Video from a bystander appearing to capture Bostic’s arrest shows a group of officers pinning him to the street on his stomach between a light-colored sedan and a police vehicle.
Fronterotta also said paramedics checked Bostic’s vitals, but he refused to be taken to a hospital. The family’s claim against the LA County Fire Department alleges that paramedics did not meaningfully assess Bostic at the scene of his arrest and logged in a patient care record that Bostic rejected medical care.
Darden said she didn’t believe her nephew would have refused an ambulance, saying “he would always want to go to the doctor.”
