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The wife of a Nanakuli man who suffocated while being restrained by police is suing the city and the police officers who restrained her husband.
Aaron Torres, 37, died Feb. 20 after three Honolulu police officers handcuffed, shackled and held him face-down on the ground.
The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office said Torres suffocated, and classified the case as a homicide. The autopsy also said Torres had cocaine in his blood and that a contributing cause and significant condition in the death was his history of chronic cocaine abuse.
The city prosecutor declined to pursue criminal charges against the officers.
Michele Y.M.H. Torres filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court as the surviving spouse and personal representative of her husband’s estate.
Aaron Torres’ sister, Tassa Torres, sued the city and the officers in August for the emotional distress she claims to have suffered in witnessing the officers suffocate her younger brother while ignoring her and other family members’ pleas for them to stop.
The encounter began when police went to Aaron Torres’ home after he called 911. The officers found Torres to be apparently mentally unstable and possibly under the influence of drugs, police said. As the officers were restraining him to prevent him from harming himself or others, Torres lost consciousness, police said.