The family of a Modesto man who died in custody on May 5 claims Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Deputies used "unnecessary and excessive force."
According to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, Alex Sanchez, 38, began fighting with deputies after he was cited for an unregistered vehicle. Officials say Sanchez was taken to a nearby hospital for medical clearance, and became unresponsive.
Detectives say he died at the hospital, but have not released the cause of his death.
Sanchez’s fiancée, Jessica Humphrey, says the two were on the phone during part of the incident. Humphrey showed ABC10 an audio recording of the interaction between Sanchez and deputies.
“I tried to record it because I knew something wasn't right,” said Humphrey. “I freaked out and just hung up the phone because I couldn't record during the call.”
Humphrey explained she tried to call Sanchez back immediately.
“He was trying to call me back, and so both of our phones went straight to voicemail, and that's how everything got recorded,” Humphrey added.
Sanchez’s family hired, Mark E. Merin, a civil rights attorney who filed a claim against Stanislaus County and the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department.
“We are desperately seeking information from people who were there. It was Cinco de Mayo, and there was a parade. We know people must have seen what happened,” Merin said.
Part of the claim states, “Mr. Sanchez was not violating any criminal law, but for some reason there was a physical confrontation between him and deputies on the scene. Unnecessary and excessive force was used and Mr. Sanchez was killed.”
Sanchez’s mother said the sheriff's department told her they would not provide any more details until the investigation is completed.
“There's a lot of holes in there and there's no good explanation,” said Bertha Sanchez. “They didn't have to beat him. Someone did that, and they have to be held accountable.”
According to Humphrey, they two of them had recently purchased the truck Sanchez was using.
“We only had it for three months, and we got insurance on it,” Humphrey adds.
The Sanchez family and Humphrey say the information released by the department doesn’t add up.
"He was so loving and caring, and just such a nice guy. I don't see him flagging somebody down for help, and then starting crap with them knowing he had registration," Humphrey said.
Merin told ABC10 the family hired a private pathologist, but he was not able to determine the cause of death.
"He said, look the body is so cut up, we can't tell what happened. We have to get the [coroner's] autopsy report, and then we can see what happened."
The Sheriff’s Department has not said when the autopsy will be released.
"What we're getting is nonsense," Merin stated. "We want transparency and responsibility."
ABC10 received the following statement from the department Wednesday:
“There are no new updates regarding the investigation. For any information regarding a claim against the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department please contact County Counsel."
Deputy County Counsel, Robert J. Taro sent ABC10 this statement:
"The investigation is not yet complete, and at this time we have no comment about the investigation or the claim."
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