El Paso Cops Smothered Xavier Hernandez to Death to Stop Him from Committing Suicide. Police Release [public] Video with 6 Minutes Missing, Family Seeks Eyewitnesses

The attorneys for the family of an El Paso man whose controversial death while being arrested by police on Interstate 10 was ruled a homicide are asking for witnesses to come forward.

Xavier Guadalupe Hernandez, 30, died on July 13 after he was shocked multiple times with a Taser and pinned down by police officers for more than five minutes along I-10.

According to EPPD, Hernandez was attempting to jump off the interstate and became uncooperative when officers tried to restrain him around 10 a.m.

"He was in pain, in crisis, and he begged, ‘Someone call 911, please.’ Instead of compassion, instead of care, he was met with tasers, chokeholds, fists, and the crushing weight of officers pinning him down face-first on burning asphalt until he could no longer breathe," his mother, Angelica Lujan, said in a statement issued through the family's attorneys on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

"My son died with his hands behind his back, unarmed, begging for mercy," Lujan said. "He did not deserve to die like that. No one deserves to die like that."

An autopsy by the El Paso County Medical Examiner's Office determined the death was a homicide caused by "asphyxia due to chest compression during law enforcement subdual and restrain" with cocaine toxicity as a "significant" factor.

The case will likely go to a grand jury to determine if criminal charges will be filed against the officers involved. The names of the officers have not been released.

The family is being represented by Texas civil rights and personal injury lawyers Robert Melendez and Jeff Edwards, both of Austin.

"After George Floyd, every officer in America knows that once someone is prone and restrained, you must roll them onto their side so they can breathe. It is as basic as it gets. This is a death that never should have occurred," Edwards said in a statement.

Family's attorneys: Xavier Hernandez was victim of excessive force, excessive restraint

Last month, the El Paso Police Department released body camera video of what started as a call about a pedestrian causing a hazard on the roadway on I-10 near Yarbrough Drive.

The video shows as the situation quickly escalate as Hernandez, who appears to be in distress, keeps asking for the officer's badge number as the officer repeatedly shocks Hernandez with an electric stun-gun while trying to handcuff him. Eventually, Hernandez is handcuffed and held down by police on the side of the busy freeway.

The Hernandez family's attorneys said in statement that police escalated the use of force instead of deescalating an encounter with someone in a mental health crisis. Hernandez was also a victim of "excessive restraint" with police officers applying prolonged chest pressure, resulting in a rib fracture and ultimately his death, the attorneys claimed.

"The key issue here is that officers remained on top of Xavier even after he was tased, handcuffed, and subdued while face down," Melendez said. "Xavier's last words were asking for help. His death is a call for accountability and justice we cannot ignore."

Xavier Hernandez's family requests bystander videos, statements

The body camera video released by EPPD edited out about six minutes during which Hernandez was supposedly pinned to the ground until just before he becomes unresponsive. The bodycam video jumps from the 10:17:35 time stamp to 10:23:39.

The Hernandez family's attorneys are asking for any bystanders to come forward with any video footage, photos, witness accounts or information on the I-10 incident.

The legal team has set up a 24-hour tip line at 888-707-1911. Videos and photos can also be emailed to tips@justiceforxavier.com [MORE]