Montclair Family Claims Excessive Police Force After Man Left Comatose

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A Montclair family says police used excessive force after a 42-year-old man was left comatose following an officer's use of force.

Antonio Ibáñez’s family said officers beat the man and shocked him with a stun gun, leaving him brain dead. Now they’re having to weigh whether to take him off life support.

“He’s not going to wake up anymore. They took him from here. I want justice, I want them to return him, I want my son back,” Ibáñez’s distraught mother said during a Monday morning news conference.

The Montclair Police Department said officers responded around 12:25 a.m. on March 5 to a home on the 4100 block of Mission Boulevard after a woman who lived there called to report that Ibáñez was armed with “an object” and threatening her.

Ibáñez lived at the same home, and his brother said he rented a room there. It was unclear what the relationship was between Ibáñez and the woman.

According to the MPD, the woman said she and her daughters were in her vehicle when Ibáñez, whom she believed to be under the influence of drugs, confronted them.

Responding officers confronted Ibáñez in a bedroom of the home. The department did not detail the use of force, but Christian Contreras, an attorney for the family, said officers beat Ibáñez with a baton and used a Taser, causing him to go into a “medical crisis.”

The police department said officers requested medical aid after they had detained the man. Medical personnel performed CPR at the scene before Ibáñez was taken to a hospital, where he remains on life support.

Abraham Rojo said his brother is braindead and the family may have to take him off life support.

“This is psychologically taking a toll on my mom – mentally, physically and emotionally,” Rojo said.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the case.