

During a manic episode in 2008, Alvarez was arrested for assault on a peace officer in Sonoma County. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to Napa State Hospital.

On March 23, 2017 Alvarez was having a negative reaction to a change in his medication, his doctor told investigators. Records show he was very upset and shouting obscenities in an outdoor yard. A psychiatric technician pushed her personal alarm, and five officers, including Hauscarriague, responded from a nearby building.

Several staff members told state investigators that police, and particularly Michael Hauscarriague, were aggressive and charged Alvarez before checking with doctors or considering whether the patient was a threat, the records show. Also, medical staff disputed summaries of their statements to police after the incident that omitted their descriptions of the unwarranted use of force. Some wondered why they were questioned by officers who were involved in the incident.

“The minute they saw what happened to his face, the decision was made that they needed to charge him with something,” said Karen Silver, Sonoma County deputy public defender and Alvarez’s attorney. “I think it was real clear once Mr. Alvarez’s face was examined, before he even went to the hospital: You better cover your ass with something that shows that that was proper force.”

Hospital police Officer Terence McCullough told state investigators that there was internal pressure to arrest Alvarez.

McCullough said his sergeant told him: “We are looking to make an arrest.” The urgency to arrest Alvarez was due to a peace officer being injured, according to McCullough.

“Nobody squeezed me to do anything special because it was the chief’s kid,” McCullough told state investigators.

A therapist expressed shock when she learned from state investigators that Alvarez had been arrested and charged with serious felonies, including resisting arrest and battery on a peace officer resulting in great bodily injury. Along with McCullough, Alvarez’s primary doctor also told investigators that higher-ups at the hospital pressured him to send Alvarez to jail, where the patient spent seven months until all charges were suddenly dismissed by the district attorney in October 2017.

Though investigators asked McCullough about the chief’s possible involvement in the arrest, records do not indicate that the investigation further probed any improper involvement of medical or police supervisors in the case.

The DSH omitted disciplinary documents in its recent release of information in response to a public records request. KQED has again requested those disciplinary documents, but they have not yet been provided. Requests to interview the police chief, medical director and executive director of Napa State Hospital were declined. Attempts to reach Michael Hauscarriague directly were unsuccessful, and attorneys for the police officers did not respond to requests for comment.