The family of 49-year-old Arben Pilici called police for help after he refused to go to his appointment to renew mental health prescriptions, but it turned deadly.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A metro Atlanta family filed a complaint after a man with a mental illness allegedly died while in police custody when officers were called for help.
The complaint states that the family of 49-year-old Arben Pilici called police for help after he refused to go to his doctor’s appointment to renew his mental health prescriptions, but it turned deadly after an officer allegedly pinned Pilici down for eight minutes, cutting off his airway.
The family’s attorney said the complaint is shining a light on how officers continue to be accused of excessive force on people with mental illness and how asphyxiation by police continues to be a deadly occurrence. Lawyers called for better training for law enforcement officers to prevent these deaths from occurring.
“DeKalb County families need reassurance that if they call for help for a loved one who is having a mental health crisis, that this will not happen to them,” Jeff Filipovits said during a press conference on Friday.
What happened to Arben Pilici
On the morning of February 9, 2024, law enforcement arrived but told the family they could not involuntarily take him to his doctor’s appointment. This is when a Claratel Behavioral Health doctor sent a request to the Mobile Crisis Unit (MCU), whose goal is to “de-escalate acute crises and provide immediate therapeutic interventions to avoid necessary hospitalizations and arrests.”
The next day, the lawsuit states that Jason Daniels, who was employed by the DeKalb County Police Department, arrived with Lisa Guest, a licensed practical counselor employed by the nonprofit Claratel. Both Daniels and Guest were just assigned to the MCU the day before the incident.
Once they encountered Pilici, he was calm but made it clear he did not want to speak with the officers, as evidenced by his limited responses. The lawsuit also states that Pilici was not fluent in English and spoke in Albanian during the encounter. The document mentions that Pilici gestured with his arm and told Daniels and Guests to leave.
Later, Daniels asked Pilici’s brother to explain to him that he was going to the hospital, and Daniels flashed his handcuffs at Pilici and repeatedly told him, “You’ve got to go,” and asked, “You want to put these on?”
As Pilici continued gesturing for Guest and Daniels to leave and yelling in Albanian, his brother tried to intervene, positioning himself between Daniels and Pilici. This is when the call to help their family member get to the hospital took a turn for the worse.
The two brothers collided with Daniels, who then pinned Pilici to the ground, according to the lawsuit, for about eight minutes.
The lawsuit states, “the pressure applied by Daniels was so intense that it altered Mr. Pilici’s voice and restricted his ability to breathe.” Six minutes into the eight, Pilici’s movement stopped, and he was no longer crying out for help.
At this time, another officer, Keith Byrd, arrived on the scene. Bryd helped Daniels take Pilici to the patrol vehicle after Daniels handcuffed him. The lawsuit states that Pilici was no longer resisting, but he was audibly struggling to breathe, could not speak, and struggled to stand. During the incident, the lawsuit indicates that Guest did not intervene or try to help Pilici.
At the patrol vehicle, Pilici slumped over in the seat and ended up face down in the back seat.
“They left him there for 15 minutes as they joked about what had occurred, and as they joked, Mr. Pilici suffocated in the back of the police car,” said the Filipovits.
Body camera footage released by the family’s attorney
Body camera footage released by the family’s attorneys’ office, Filipovits & Smith, shows Pilici stumbling down the porch steps and wheezing as if he’s struggling to breathe.
The footage also shows officers placing him in the patrol vehicle, sitting upright, but Pilici then slumps over and ends up face down in the back seat.
The video indicates that none of the officers tried to help him sit upright, but one officer can be heard saying, “You want to sit up, man.” The officer then bends his legs up and closes the door. Another officer opens the door on the other side, where Pilici’s head is positioned. It’s unclear what the officer was doing, but when the car door closed, it appears to have hit Pilici on the head.
The full lawsuit can be read below: