Officer on video saying he'll 'choke you out' before man dies is charged with manslaughter

[Demovictory9]

Officer on video saying he'll 'choke you out' before man dies is charged with manslaughter
"I'm going to f*** choke you out, bro," the New Mexico police officer can be heard saying.

Link to tweet

Body camera footage obtained Sunday shows a New Mexico police officer telling a man he’s going to “choke you out” before allegedly causing his death with what authorities described as a “vascular neck restraint.”

The officer, Christopher Smelser, was charged Friday with involuntary manslaughter in the Feb. 29 death of Antonio Valenzuela. On the same day, the Las Cruces Police Department filed a letter of intent to fire Smelser.

In a statement, chief Patrick Gallagher cited the conclusions of an autopsy report, which he received on June 4 and which listed Valenzuela’s cause of death as “asphyxia injuries due to physical restraint," according to documents obtained by NBC News. Gallagher added that the department immediately prohibited the use of the vascular neck restraint.

Methamphetamines found in Valenzuela's system also “significantly” contributed to his death, the autopsy says.

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In video footage obtained by NBC affiliate KOB, Smelser can be heard telling Valenzuela, “I’m going to f*** choke you out, bro.” Valenzuela can be heard gasping for breath.

A lawyer for Valenzuela’s family, Sam Bregman, told reporters Tuesday that Valenzuela didn’t attack Smelser, brandish a weapon or threaten him.

“He was running away,” he said. “There was absolutely no justification to choke him, and certainly nothing to justify killing him.”




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In a statement to NBC News, Smelser’s lawyer, Amy Orlando, said Smelser “regrets” Valenzuela’s death, but said he was “actively resisting,” had a weapon and “violently fought” officers. Orlando did not say what kind of weapon Valenzuela had, but added that it was found in a pocket that he was reaching for.

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Bregman said that Valenzuela’s family believes that Smelser should face second-degree murder charges as well.

“This police officer literally said, ‘I’m going to choke you out, bro,'” he said. “That is not involuntary manslaughter. That is second-degree manslaughter.”

A spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, Roxanne Garcia-McElmell, declined to comment. “We need to maintain the integrity of the fair trial process,” she said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/officer-video-saying-he-ll-choke-you-out-man-dies-n1228886

[Coventina]

1. FTP & ACAB

[msongs]

2. so how does saying that not be premeditation. says im gonna kill u then he does? nt

[chillfactor]

3. I live in New Mexico

I am disgusted with this charge...should be no LESS then second-degree murder.

[uponit7771]

4. They do this shit while on camera cause they know they don't have to care

[Major Nikon]

5. His lawyer justified it by claiming Valenzuela "was carrying a weapon"

What is this weapon you may ask? A multitool. Probably not a good idea to try that shit in court as a prosecutor will rip him a new asshole.