The police were dispatched to an apartment complex over a complaint of a man (Mr. Johnson, a 52-year-old Black man) who had water overflowing in his apartment, was acting erratic, and was alleged to have hung knives outside his window.

After parking and walking to the front entrance, the police discussed the situation and said they didn't want to force their way into the man’s apartment and create a “situation” and the water on the floor was a manager issue. From outside the building the police saw Mr. Johnson through the window in his apartment. They gathered minimal information from the security guard and, in fact, interrupted him and stopped him from telling them about the building’s history with Mr. Johnson’s behavior.

The police entered the building without waiting for the manager, who was on his way. Mr. Johnson's door was open to the hallway and Mr. Johnson was on the far side of the small apartment attempting to clean his bed and his room in a dysregulated manner. The police attempted to talk with Mr. Johnson to see if he was all right while failing to announce that they were the police. One officer stood in the doorway with another officer to his side with a gun drawn and another officer on the other side of the doorway.

The apartment’s floor was wet but the police said there was no sound of running water. The police asked Mr. Johnson to come out into the hallway to talk. Mr. Johnson clearly said, “no.” They asked Mr. Johnson if he’d like help flipping over his bed because it’s upside down but he was scrubbing the underside and Mr. Johnson said, “no.” When the police asked if the water was running, Mr. Johnson said, “no, of course not.” It was clear Mr. Johnson did not want to interact with the three men in his doorway as he mumbled and made brief responses to their questions and sang a song while he continued cleaning. The police tried to decide what to do because Mr. Johnson wasn’t coming out and was, for the most part, ignoring them. The police indicated they were hesitant to enter the apartment because of the risks of injuring themselves or Mr. Johnson but as one officer said, “What we gotta do is what we gotta do, I’m in.” So they agreed to go ahead, despite the risks and despite other de-escalation options.

The police quickly entered the home while Mr. Johnson's back was turned and facing the window and grabbed his arms. Mr. Johnson was opening a package of rainbow cake and was about to eat it when the police grabbed his arms. They told Mr. Johnson, “don’t resist or force will be used against you,” never announcing that they were the police. Seeing Mr. Johnson had a handful of cake and was trying to eat it, the police briefly allowed Mr. Johnson to take a bite while telling him not to choke, but then forcibly twisted Mr. Johnson's arms behind him when he tried to move toward the window. Mr. Johnson resisted and the four of them fell to the floor and struggled on the floor.

The three police used pain techniques and their weight to force Mr. Johnson onto his stomach and forced his arms behind his back. In the struggle, they handcuffed Mr. Johnson and maintained pressure on him, pinning his head and body to the wet kitchen floor in a prone position with his face to the wet floor. Mr. Johnson said, “I surrender,” several times and became quiet and still. The police let up on some of the pressure but continued pinning him down while repeatedly telling him to “relax” and “we’re here to help you” and “keep breathing.”

One officer called for the paramedics who were staged nearby and wanted them to administer a sedative to help subdue Mr. Johnson. The police realized Mr. Johnson was non-responsive, might not be breathing, and had a very weak pulse. They moved him to his side, no longer smashing his head to the ground and began rubbing his chest in an attempt to revive him. The police appeared alarmed and made more urgent calls for the paramedics to hurry. The paramedics arrived and asked the police to remove the handcuffs. One officer said, “no,” but after talking to the paramedic, he relented and removed the cuffs from the unresponsive man. The three police officers were then relieved by back-up officers.