Family says loved one's death involving Chicago police similar to George Floyd's
CHICAGO - The death of George Floyd is hitting close to home for a Chicago family. They lost a loved one under similar circumstances five years ago.
Now, they are asking questions about the officers in their case.
The attorney for the Chicago family says Floyd’s family hired the same medical examiner that they did for an independent autopsy. That medical examiner had the same cause of death for both men -- asphyxia.
“It brought back memories, it brought back, anger,” said Janet Godinez.
Janet says she believes her brother Heriberto was killed by Chicago police.
In July of 2015, police responded to a burglary near Pershing and Albany where they found Heriberto.
No audio was recorded, but there was video. Janet says the audio must have been similar to what was heard during Floyd’s incident.
“What he was screaming, I feel like that's what my brother was screaming,” Janet said.
Handcuffed and on the ground, one Chicago police officer can be seen on the video briefly stepping on Heriberto’s neck. Another officer appears to place a foot on top of him while he is on the ground behind a squad car. Then, the family's attorney says the officer steps up, placing his full weight on Heriberto.
“He's basically comatose or unconscious for several minutes on the video. Then he wakes up squirming like crazy. They take him off camera into a squadron, where he's found dead by the EMT couple minutes later,” attorney Jeff Granich said.
The county's autopsy results show Heriberto died of cocaine and alcohol poisoning, with police restraint as a contributing factor.
The officers were placed on administrative duties, but not disciplined, which is unlike what Janet says happened to the Minneapolis officers.
“The city is appalled of their actions, but yet when that happened to my brother, they were not appalled. Nobody was appalled,” she said.
The family won a wrongful death suit for $1.2 million.
One of the officers involved was part of another city settlement when he was caught on camera pushing a man down, causing his brain to bleed.
The Godinez family is still looking for justice.
The state's attorney at the time, Anita Alvarez, says the officers were not charged because prosecutors would not be able "to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers used excessive force."
Still, the family wants the officers fired and is calling on Mayor Lori Lightfoot to do something about it.
FOX 32 reached out to the mayor's office and has not heard back.