Oakland police video shows dying man pleading 'I can't breathe'

51-year-old Hernan Jaramillo never regained consiousness

A city in California has paid $450,000 to the family of a man who screamed 20 times that he could not breathe and that police were “killing” him after he was arrested in his apartment.

Newly released video footage taken from a body-camera worn by one of the officers, showed 51-year-old Hernan Jaramillo repeatedly screaming and howling over the course of five minutes.

“I can’t breathe. You’re killing me right now,” Mr Jaramillo can be heard to shout.

Police were originally called to the home of Mr Jaramillo by his sister

Police responded by telling him that he should relax and that they only wanted to talk to him. He replied: “I can’t breathe. I’m losing my air.”

The footage was obtained by the Oakland Tribune, a week after it emerged that the city had settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Mr Jaramillo for $450,000.

Police had been called to Mr Jaramillo’s home on July 8 2013 because his sister, Ana Biocini, reported that an intruder was trying to kill her brother, the Associated Press said.

Upon arrival, there was no sign of an intruder; instead, police said in court documents that Mr Jaramillo was exhibiting “erratic behavior” and refused to be handcuffed.

In a statement released at the time, police said the subject became unresponsive in the “ensuing struggle,” at which point the officers immediately attempted to resuscitate him while waiting for emergency medical personnel to arrive.

Mr Jaramillo's family received $450,000

The grainy video showed officers continuing to restrain Mr Jaramillo, a tactic associated with in-custody deaths and which came into sharp focus and triggered great controversy after the 2014 death of Eric Garner in New York. Mr Garner's family settled a lawsuit last year for $5.9m.

Mr Jaramillo pleas became quieter the longer that police continued to hold him.

He never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

In his deposition, Officer Ira Anderson said that while attempting to force Mr Jaramillo into the car, he saw the man's hands were no longer handcuffed behind his back but out in front.

“I grabbed him by the shirt,” Mr Anderson said. “I brought him away from the car….did a leg sweep and put him on the sidewalk.“

Officers said they held Mr Jaramillo down by his arms and wrists, but a number of witnesses said they saw an officer pressing a knee into his back.