The last of three officers charged in the 2021 death of Mario Gonzalez has now officially been cleared of any criminal responsibility.
The interim Alameda County District Attorney announced Friday that the charges against Officer Eric McKinley were dropped, but Gonzalez's mother said it felt like a slap in her face.
"I feel so bad, you know, like, to be Christmas, you know, like, four days before Christmas, I feel like, slap to my face," said Edith Arenales, Mario's mother.
Arenales said she plans to fight the interim DA's decision once the new DA takes office next year.
"It's political stuff," she said. "They play games with us. They don't think about the pain."
Gonzalez died in police custody in 2021 after officers pinned him to the ground while trying to take him into custody.
The county coroner cited methamphetamine as the cause of death; however, an independent report determined Gonzalez died by asphyxiation.
The independent report led former DA Pameda Price to file charges.
Without providing details, the DA's office said the same independent pathologist is to blame for the charges being dropped.
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"Multiple key inconsistencies by this now hostile yet necessary witness led the People to conclude they could not meet their burden of proving Officer McKinley committed involuntary manslaughter beyond a reasonable doubt," read a statement from the DA's office.
Charges against the other two officers involved in the arrest were thrown out in October after the DA missed a filing date.
"He already put out a report that said Mario Gonzalez died of asphyxiation and now he doesn't feel like he wants to testify in criminal court against police," said Barni Qaasim, a Justice for Mario Gonzalez advocate. "That's not his job. Let the people decide."
McKinley's attorney, James Shore, said he was happy the officer wouldn't face prison time but added that he believes the case was mishandled from the start.
"My heart went out to the family members of Mr. Gonzales who, in my opinion, were unfortunately led by a false prophet," Shore said.
Shore said he faces constant roadblocks when obtaining information on the case from recalled DA Price, including materials he believes prove his client's innocence.
"I wonder if some of the main reasons behind this dismissal today were, in fact, an attempt to cover up and continue the smokescreen and prevent Mr. McKinley and myself and the court from finding out what really happened behind the scenes that led to the charges against my client," Shore said.
The Alameda Police Department confirmed to NBC Bay Area that McKinley will return to the patrol division now that the charges have been dismissed.
