Officers who sat on handcuffed Scott man not indicted

Lafayette Parish law enforcement officers who held a Scott man face down until he was unresponsive were not indicted by a grand jury Wednesday.

Robert Minjarez Jr., 30, died five days after officers with the Carencro and Scott police departments and deputies with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office arrested him on March 2, 2014, outside a gas station on North University Avenue.

Initial police reports indicated Minjarez died from drug-inflected brain damage.

The Lafayette Parish coroner's report listed the cause of death as "compressional asphyxia due to face-down physical restraint by law enforcement officers with contribution of rhabdomyolysis and cocaine toxicity."

According to WebMD, rhabdomyolysis is the result of a muscle injury. Common causes include use of alcohol or illegal drugs, including cocaine; a crush injury like from a fall or car accident; or long-lasting muscle compression such as lying unconscious on a hard surface while under the influence of alcohol or medication.

WATCH: Dash cam footage of the fatal arrest

Louisiana State Police conducted an investigation and turned their findings over to the 15th Judicial District Attorney's Office and the FBI, according to Master Trooper Brooks David, state police Troop I spokesman.

The FBI New Orleans Division released a statement at the request of The Daily Advertiser confirming their investigation into the matter is concluded without charges.

"The investigation did not develop any information with which the DOJ Civil Rights Unit could prosecute," the statement read.

The District Attorney's Office presented their case Wednesday to a grand jury, which declined to indict the officers. The names of the officers have not been released by law enforcement officials.

But a federal wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Heather Scanlon, the mother of Minjarez's two children, names Sheriff Mike Neustrom; Carencro Police Chief Carlos Stout; Scott Police Chief Chad Leger; Lafayette Parish Deputy Sheriffs Joey Graciana, Jill Birkenmier, Mathew Meginley and John Sullivan; Scott Police Officer Hayden Godeaux; and an unnamed Carencro Police officer.

'Mentally agitated'

The coroner's report notes that the day before the fatal encounter, on March 1, 2014, police responded to a complaint that Minjarez was "reportedly agitated, naked and had destroyed a residence." He was treated at a hospital, tested positive for cocaine and benzodiazepine and had symptoms consistent with rhabdomyolysis. He left against medical advice before seeing the doctor.

Officers again encountered Minjarez on March 2, 2014, outside a Texaco gas station and store on University Avenue and Pont des Mouton Road.

Using video surveillance from the store and dash cam video from police cars on March 2, 2014, the coroner's investigator said Minjarez appeared to be hallucinating and "mentally agitated" but not physically agitated before the police arrived.

A canine officer and another officer initially attempted to restrain Minjarez, who raised his arms but did not turn around, the report states. The officers did not fire a Taser or use the canine on him.

Two more officers arrived and video shows Minjarez kept his arms up but appeared to disobey orders to get down, the report states. The two new officers brought him to the ground and a brief struggle occurred in which Minjarez was initially laid out on his side, then face down.

Minjarez cries for help

His upper body was on the street, his hips and legs were on the sidewalk, the report states. At least three or four officers remained on top of or partially on top of Minjarez while he lay face down, his hands and legs cuffed.

For about five minutes, Minjarez is heard on audio from the dash cams screaming, "Help, help. Help me. Get off. You're going to kill me," the coroner's report states. He continues, "You're going to suffocate..." and "I can't breathe" three times. He cried and screamed, his voice becoming "increasingly muffled, hoarse and strained" while repeating "I can't breathe."

Around five minutes into the restraint, he groans and gurgles and an officer said "You got 265 pounds on your back, you're not going anywhere." He "is heard to make an agonal groan and no more sounds are heard from him," the report states.

Minjarez was taken to the hospital by ambulance and EMS reported he "had blue ears and was not breathing initially." He remained in intensive care until declared brain dead and was declared dead on March 7, 2014.

The pressure on Minjarez "due to the officers' weight did not allow for full chest expansion," the coroner's report states. The fact that he was partially on the street and partially on the curb, as well as the fact that his hands were cuffed behind his back, made breathing even more difficult for him to breathe.

The coroner added, "One might argue that the death was inevitable due to the rhabdomyolysis already developing. However, given the evidence ... it appears more likely to be a compressional asphyxia with a contribution of the rhabdomyolysis rather than the other way around."

(Contact Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvertiser.com or 337-289-6344)