Family of Willits Man Who Died During Law Enforcement Restraint Files Federal Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Still from the body cam footage of MCSO Deputy Lopez shot during the incident that occurred prior to the death of Nicholas Bakewell.
The family of Nicholas Bakewell, a 36-year-old Willits father of three, filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit yesterday alleging that law enforcement officers used excessive force, employed unconstitutional restraint practices, and failed to provide timely medical care after Bakewell stopped breathing during a June 5, 2025 encounter.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department, officers from the City of Willits Police Department, the County of Mendocino, and the City of Willits. The plaintiffs include Bakewell’s three minor children, who are participating in the case through a court-appointed guardian ad litem, a representative assigned to protect their legal interests during the lawsuit, as well as his mother, Carolyn Bakewell.
According to the complaint, officers responded on the evening of June 5, 2025, to reports of a disturbance near the intersection of Bray Road and Hearst Willits Road. The lawsuit states that Bakewell, who was unarmed and experiencing a mental health crisis, was met with escalating force rather than de-escalation. The complaint alleges deputies and officers deployed Tasers multiple times and used chemical agents before restraining him.
The lawsuit further alleges that Bakewell was handcuffed, placed face-down on the pavement, and restrained while multiple officers applied significant body weight to his back and neck for an extended period. During the restraint, Bakewell allegedly showed signs of respiratory distress and difficulty breathing. He later became unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene.
In September 2025, a Mendocino County forensic pathologist determined Bakewell’s cause of death to be restraint-associated asphyxiation, with the manner of death classified as homicide—a medical designation indicating that restraint contributed to his death, but not itself a finding of criminal wrongdoing. The pathologist also identified additional contributing factors, including drug toxicity and heart disease. Those findings were forwarded to the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office, which is reviewing the autopsy and toxicology reports.
A press release previously issued by the Sheriff’s Office stated that the autopsy found restraint-associated asphyxiation and type 2 myocardial ischemic injury as the primary causes of death. Contributing conditions included acute combined drug toxicity involving methamphetamine, psilocin, dextromethorphan, and gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), as well as hypertensive cardiomyopathy and obesity.
Body camera footage released July 15 shows deputies using OC spray, Tasers, and physical restraint during the encounter. Less than six minutes elapsed from the arrival of the first deputy to officers calling for emergency medical aid after Bakewell stopped breathing. Video shows Bakewell remained face down for about a minute after being handcuffed before officers noticed signs of distress. Deputies administered Narcan and attempted CPR, but Bakewell was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sheriff Matt Kendall and Captain Quincy Cromer have previously stated that deputies acted in accordance with department policy and training. Cromer said the department’s use-of-force review board concluded the deputies’ actions were within policy, though he described the incident as “difficult to watch.” The Sheriff’s Office policy manual acknowledges that restraint methods can impair breathing and instructs deputies to move restrained individuals into a recovery position once it is safe to do so.
Video of the incident compiled by MCSO.
Attorneys for the Bakewell family argue the death reflects broader failures in training and supervision. “Following the death of George Floyd, law enforcement agencies nationwide recognized the dangers of positional asphyxia and updated training accordingly,” said Houman Sayaghi of West Coast Trial Lawyers, which represents the family. “This case raises serious questions about whether those safeguards were followed when they mattered most.”
Plaintiffs’ co-counsel Kaveh Navab of Navab Law said officers had long been on notice about the risks of prone restraint and sudden death, alleging that Bakewell’s death could have been avoided had officers refrained from placing weight on his body and moved him from the prone position after he was handcuffed.
The complaint brings claims under federal civil rights law as well as state-law claims for wrongful death, assault and battery, negligence, and violations of the California Bane Civil Rights Act. The family is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and has demanded a jury trial.
Earlier:
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Some of these police are completely worthless. It literally defeats the purpose when you hire people that dumb. Plus mendo police steal from the public, and 2 Ukiah cops got criminal charges for sex crimes.
If they’re really that dumb, Houman and Kaveh should have no problem proving that to a jury and will make a small fortune from the Mendocino taxpayers. Meanwhile the children might end up with enough to afford a year of college if that’s what they decide to spend their crumbs on.
Please explain how YOU would deal with a large, angry drug addict under investigation for assaulting the public.
I don’t know Mr. Bakewell or anything about the situation beyond what has been reported by Kym et al, but…the article only mentions that he was suffering from a mental health crisis and says nothing about being an addict, being on drugs, or in the middle of an overdose. Do y’all have personal knowledge of this person’s habits? Not being combative, just asking for clarification.
“Contributing conditions included acute combined drug toxicity involving methamphetamine, psilocin, dextromethorphan, and gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), as well as hypertensive cardiomyopathy and obesity.”
https://kymkemp.com/2026/02/03/family-of-willits-man-who-died-during-law-enforcement-restraint-files-federal-wrongful-death-lawsuit/
Dextromethorphan is a cough suppressant in most OTC meds. Hypertensive cardiomyopathy and obesity are not drugs. Likely, it’s the meth that made him temporarily lose it. It is always a shame someone loses their life because of either bad choices, or suffocation by someone else’s wrongdoing. The court will have to figure out which one it is.
He is a drug addict. The officer’s did everything they could to try and save him. I know this young man and when he was living at his mom’s place a few years back, I had a run in with him. He was all drugged up and was drinking alcohol and yelling stuff you couldn’t understand sitting in the middle of the road near my home on a dangerous curve I went out there and couldn’t believe what he was doing. I tried so hard to get him out of the road he was fighting me all the way. A car was coming from on top of the hill it was his mom and she started yelling at me. He been doing drugs for quite some time.
I don’t know, it’s hard to deal with a tyrant like Donald Trump with his private masked police force.
“SoS” reply to Ptb”.
“Please explain how YOU would deal with a large, angry drug addict under investigation for assaulting the public.”
-SoS-
_________________________________________
Followed by Geoff’s “clever”, albeit tangential, totally off topic, obsessively Anti-Trump fixated, irrelevant remark…
………,….,……………………………………………
“I don’t know, it’s hard to deal with a tyrant like Donald Trump with his private masked police force.”
-Geoff-
_________________________________________
Geoff,
This is a non sequitur…
It belongs in the Jail reports…
Willits Police Officer Damian Angell killed Nicholas Bakewell as can be clearly seen in the video; “This is a clear screenshot from the body camera footage (slowed down in the YouTube app) showing the Willits Police Department Officer Damian Angell in the incident where Nicholas Bakewell died. You can see the officer’s knee positioned on Nicholas’s head/neck area.
In the seconds leading up to this frame, other officers noticed Nicholas was not breathing and repeatedly urged him to breathe. However, this officer maintained pressure with his knee, which allegedly prevented Nicholas from breathing, while instructing another officer to ‘just go get the keys.’ The pressure was not released until Nicholas had stopped breathing entirely.
How are the police supposed to arrest a very large violent man on cocktail of crazy making drugs exactly?
Very true. I’m guessing the involved officers have lost some sleep reliving and wondering the same.
Approaching any situation with the public one would hope LE comes at it not wanting to prove anything or hurt anyone. I wasn’t there and wouldn’t speculate; sad a dad was lost. 😢
Unfortunately, many police, as shown by the ICE thugs, are sadists who want to abuse and subjugate. Like Trump, they’re not happy unless someone is hurting.
What is your problem? You have to bring our President Trump into this. [edit]
Geoff, like so many liberals has TDS. They are so filled with hate for President Trump and his supporters that they can’t see straight or think straight.
While trumpers LOVE the fascist authoritarian mindset. They’re not happy unless obeying Cult Master.
Phony devotion to the Constitution? Evaporated.
This comment is also an off topic non-sequitur..
WPD Officer Damian Angell killed this man!
I support ICE, Back the Badge, Thin Blue Line, BUT….
WATCH THIS VIDEO, THE OFFICER IN THE PHOTO ABOVE WPD OFFICER DAMIAN ANGELL KEPT THIS MANS WINDOIPES CLOSED WITH HIS KNEE ON HIS NECK, then “lost” the body cam image from his own camera!! This is homicide, this man was already subdued and having a bad mushroom trip. He already had cuffs on after being tased. This is clearly homicide by WPD Officer Damian Angell. Now the BROKE City of Willits will use insurance for payout, and the insurance prices will go up for the already nearly bankrupt town.
Don’t criticize Cult Master, eh?
Trump hasn’t stolen all our freedom–yet. He’s working on it.
This comment is also an off topic non-sequitur…
Trump slaves have surrendered to the Russians already.
This comment is also an off topic non-sequitur…
I feel sorry for his kids, yes. They had a violent dad who was on a cocktail of crazy making drugs.
You should watch the video then.
A 36 year old father of three? Hitchhiking and higher than a kite on drugs? Deputies and CHP or Willits PD involved on the video were polite, decisive and compassionate. What else does a community want from their employees?
Mr. Bakewell’s arrest and subsequent overdose appears to be the same thing that happened to George Floyd while he was high on drugs.
Drug users aren’t martyrs and they’re not victims.
May this federal lawsuit get tossed by a righteous jurist.
When a cop kneels on the neck of one of your militia pals, don’t come crying to us.
Interesting tack. Notice militia folks aren’t having cops kneel on their necks?
What goes around, comes around. The authorities aren’t too happy about the militia stockpiling of illegal weapons and explosives. No matter how much you try to pretend rightwing extremists are upstanding citizens.
That’s why militias exist. And they’re also mentioned in the constitution. A prime example of why Democratic Socialists should be kept from the levers of power at all costs and by any means necessary.
The words “county” and “sheriff” are NOT mentioned at all in the Constitution. The Constitutional meaning of “militia”, as in the Second Amendment, is debatable. The stockpiling of illegal weapons including explosives is NOT protected by the Constitution.
We don’t all want to live in buried culverts.
Maybe they’re one and the same.
“Jeff” is a simplified spelling for low-intelligence people derived from the original name.
The Trump Reich has promoted the use of horrible restraint devices against “immigrants”, ie anybody the masked jackbooted Icer thugs don’t like. Watch for these to spread to trumpy police forces.
This was in Willits and had nothing to do with Trump.
It’s not like the police didn’t know the risk. But they acted in defiance of their own regulations. Was Derek Chauvin upset about murdering George Floyd? Not too much, but he can think about it in prison.
And please, remember this
The Icers are a particularly low breed. They revel in it.
The attorneys are the lowest, will make bank, at the family’s expense, even when they lose.
If it wasn’t done in a court of law, people who take money by leveraging the amount of damage they can cause those who don’t fork it over would be called extortionists.
As usual that ignores the space between the two comments where Good ran her vehicle. And also spins out of all common sense the outcry of the person who just got hit.
Drugs are bad.
Not all of them.
But the kind that lead to aggressive irrationality are.
Know who is missing from the list of defendants? Harm reductionists. You tell people it’s ok to take drugs and not not usee to much and you have a RIGHT to take these drugs because youre self medicating you poor baby, and you bad bad Karens need to stay out of it because we know what we’re doing. We have training and you don’t know what youre talking about.
THIS is what we’re talking about!
Want to save a life? Stop making excuses and get people off of this s***.
At least give more respect to those who stay sober, so they can earn money to support those who don’t, than is given to those who do neither.
One needs to watch the video carefully,,
this man was out of his mind.This complicated any type of minimal restraint.
Sad to see anyone in that messed up state,
He was a danger to himself and who knows who else! Where was he going?
what was he doing?
These drug induced traumas are becoming all too common.Its out of control!
And which one of us has the right answer on how to deal with this kind of situation?
A father of three?! Guy definitely needed a break not a heart attack.But who really induced this?
himself? Or law enforcement?
He obviously had a drug use problem and brought this on himself.
Sad but true. I would prefer to see him still alive for his family’s sake.Get sober enough to see the mistakes he made.
law enforcement had a tough call on this guy..
I am truly sorry for the families loss.
He shook off the 5 second taser hit.
I would not be surprised if members of his family were terrified of him. But that won’t keep them from suing the state.
Those LEOs are out there risking their lives for the community and trying to get home safe to their families. From what I see they used the necessary force and the tools that they were trained with in order to subdue an out of control individual using less than lethal means. Sad that it that way. I hope their lawsuit gets tossed out and all the officers involved don’t suffer any consequences for doing their job.
CHP informed the Sheriff’s Office of a call they received regarding a hitchhiker who was picked up by a motorist in the area and the subjects were now involved in a physical fight. CHP Officers were responding to the call with an extended response time and Willits Police Department (WPD) Officers were also requested to assist. This investigation revealed the male subject had brutally assaulted the driver of the vehicle after he was offered a ride and entered the vehicle. This assault was unprovoked and resulted in injuries that caused the driver to be admitted into a local hospital.
Saw the videoan was strangled by Willits Police Officer with knee preventing breathing. WPD Lost some body cam footage as well … COVER UP?
The minute after they had him cuffed was what killed him. WILLITS PD (along with the deputies) kept their body weight pressing down on his back and neck, restricting his breathing—even after he’d been tased multiple times, sprayed with OC, and finally handcuffed. Video shows he was still breathing and responsive right then, yet the officers had a duty to roll him off his stomach into a recovery position ASAP and monitor him closely to make sure he stayed conscious. Instead, he lay prone like that for about a minute under that pressure, went into respiratory distress, stopped breathing, and died from restraint-associated asphyxiation (ruled a homicide by the coroner, though with contributing factors like drugs and health issues).
WATCH THE BODY CAM FOOTAGE! I’m 100% BACK THE BLUE
Maybe the family should ask why their son used drugs and maybe it was due to his upbringing. Was he responsible and have an ira, 401k , life insurance or some sort of trust for his 3 kids? What did Mr Bakewell do to insure his kids are financially good in an event that he my die? What an awesome dad he was to these poor kids and what they will have to endure do to his poor choices and his parents need to step up and take some responsibility. Kids learn from their parents, Don’t do drugs period.
Nice try deflecting, Lone Ranger, but your “blame the victim’s drugs and bad parenting” routine doesn’t erase the video evidence or the coroner’s findings. Nicholas Bakewell was still breathing and responsive after being tased, OC sprayed, and cuffed—yet Willits PD officers (with deputies) kept their body weight on his back and neck for about a minute, prone on the ground, restricting his airway until he went into respiratory distress, stopped breathing, and died. The forensic pathologist ruled it restraint-associated asphyxiation—a homicide—with cardiac issues as contributing factors. Drugs were in the mix, sure, but the primary mechanism was prolonged, unnecessary prone restraint after he was already subdued and no longer a threat.
Are you law enforcement yourself, or just parroting the standard “he was on drugs” playbook to shift focus away from the officers’ failure? Because officers have a legal duty under training and policy (including positional asphyxia awareness) to immediately roll a restrained person off their stomach into a recovery position, monitor breathing, and provide medical aid if needed. They didn’t. They failed that duty, and it cost a man his life—leaving three kids without a father.
And let’s talk Mendocino DA David Eyster: He does what he’s done for years—rubber-stamps these officer-involved deaths with no charges, just like clockwork. Meanwhile, the family had to file a federal wrongful death lawsuit because accountability isn’t coming from local authorities.
This isn’t isolated. Willits PD has a long, ugly track record over the past decade:
The Derek Hendry disaster: A lieutenant fired after sexual misconduct allegations, leading to a $2.25 million settlement for a female ex-officer who sued over harassment and retaliation.
Former Chief Alexis Blaylock (a Black woman) targeted by her own department, faced a hostile environment with racism and sexism claims, resigned, and sued the city for $500k.
The 2018 officer-involved shooting of a woman after a high-speed chase ending at the South 101 interchange—another fatal encounter with questions unanswered.
Chronic high turnover: No stable, permanent chief since Gerry Gonzales retired in 2016. Scott Warnock left in 2020, and it’s been interim/acting ever since—hard to build a professional department when leadership is a revolving door.
You want to talk responsibility? Start with the department’s pattern of misconduct, lack of accountability, and repeated failures that keep costing lives and taxpayer dollars in lawsuits. Blaming a dead man’s choices doesn’t fix broken policing.
Watch the body cam footage yourself. Back the blue? Then demand they actually uphold the law and protect life—not end it through negligence.
Accountability now. No more deflections.
I put together a better report with names based off lawsuit of the deputies and Willits Police involved;
Time for Justice, not detraction.
Investigative Report: Death of Nicholas Bakewell and Related Federal Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Executive Summary
On June 5, 2025, Nicholas Bakewell, a 36-year-old resident of Willits, California, died during an arrest attempt by deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) and officers from the Willits Police Department (WPD). The incident began as a response to an alleged assault by Bakewell on a driver who had picked him up while hitchhiking. After a confrontation involving pepper spray, Tasers, and physical restraint in a prone position, Bakewell became unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene despite CPR and Narcan administration. The Mendocino County coroner ruled the cause of death as restraint-associated asphyxiation combined with a lack of oxygen to the heart (manner: homicide, a medical classification that does not imply legal wrongdoing), with contributing factors including intoxication, obesity, and pre-existing health conditions.eb8c71b336a5
On February 2, 2026, Bakewell’s family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Case No. 1:26-cv-01016, A.J.B. et al. v. County of Mendocino et al.), alleging excessive force, unconstitutional restraint, deliberate indifference to medical needs, failure to train/supervise, and related state claims. Defendants include Mendocino County, the County Sheriff, the City of Willits, the Willits Police Chief, and five individual officers/deputies. The case remains in early stages, with no criminal charges filed against law enforcement as of February 5, 2026.7b0dfb11898f
Incident Overview
Date and Time: June 5, 2025, around 7:00 p.m.
Location: Near the intersection of Bray Road and Hearst Willits Road, east of Willits, Mendocino County, California.
Deceased: Nicholas Bakewell, 36, father of three, Willits resident.
Trigger: California Highway Patrol contacted MCSO regarding a fight between Bakewell (a hitchhiker) and the driver who picked him up. Bakewell allegedly assaulted the driver, who was hospitalized.5ce72c
Deputy Jesus Lopez located Bakewell walking in the middle of Hearst Willits Road. Body-worn camera (BWC) footage shows Bakewell raising his fists, lunging at Lopez, and fleeing after Lopez drew his Taser. Sgt. Sam Logan arrived, deployed pepper spray (OC spray) and a Taser twice when Bakewell resisted handcuffing in roadside brush. WPD Officers Damian Angell, John Gale, and Donovan Shively assisted in pulling Bakewell from the brush, handcuffing him in a prone position (face-down), and applying body weight to restrain him. Officers reported urging Bakewell to breathe and relax. Within about 30 seconds to a minute of restraint, he became unresponsive. Deputies administered Narcan and CPR; paramedics arrived, but Bakewell was pronounced dead at 7:42 p.m.04756518eef1
Autopsy and Coroner’s Findings
The Mendocino County coroner (following forensic testing) determined:
Cause of Death: Restraint-associated asphyxiation and lack of oxygen to the heart (myocardial ischemic injury).
Manner: Homicide (medical/legal definition: death caused by another person, which may be lawful or unlawful).
Contributing Factors: Acute combined drug toxicity (methamphetamine, psilocin from psychedelic mushrooms, dextromethorphan, GHB), hypertensive cardiomyopathy, type 2 myocardial ischemic injury, class III obesity, and high blood pressure.d330e8950cda
Findings were released September 19-22, 2025, and referred to the Mendocino County District Attorney (DA) for potential criminal review. As of February 2026, no charging decision has been announced.6aa25a
Evidence and Public Releases
Body-Worn Camera Footage: Released by MCSO on July 15, 2025, including a 17-minute narrated compilation. It depicts the lunge at Lopez, flight, pepper spray/Taser use, restraint in prone position, and officers’ verbal commands before unresponsiveness. Footage from Deputies Lopez and Logan was reviewed by media outlets.1b3d896d2c94
Sheriff’s Policy: MCSO policy manual reportedly instructs moving restrained individuals to a recovery position once safe, acknowledging positional asphyxia risks (updated post-George Floyd).d5fcdc
Federal Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Filing Date: February 2, 2026.
Court: U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (Eureka-McKinleyville division).
Plaintiffs: Bakewell’s three minor children (via guardian ad litem, initials A.J.B. et al.) and his mother, Carolyn Bakewell.
Defendants: County of Mendocino, Sheriff Matt Kendall, City of Willits, Police Chief Brian Fay, Deputy Jesus Lopez, Sgt. Sam Logan, Officers Damian Angell, John Gale, and Donovan Shively.
Claims: Federal civil rights violations (42 U.S.C. § 1983) including excessive force, deliberate indifference to serious medical needs, failure to intervene/train/supervise (Monell claims against entities), and state claims (wrongful death, assault/battery, negligence, California Bane Civil Rights Act violations). Allegations center on improper prone restraint with body weight applied despite known asphyxia risks, failure to timely provide medical care, and inadequate training.4307fbffa057
Family attorneys (Houman Sayaghi and Kaveh Navab) emphasized post-George Floyd training updates on positional asphyxia and questioned whether safeguards were followed.
Responses from Involved Parties
MCSO: Capt. Quincy Cromer stated force was “legally permitted and appropriate” per state law and department standards. The office does not comment on pending litigation but previously released footage and defended actions.c81a3d
WPD: Chief Brian Fay did not respond to comment requests in initial coverage.
DA’s Office: No charging decision as of latest reports; review ongoing.4f3922
Current Status
No criminal charges against officers as of February 5, 2026.
Civil lawsuit in early stages (recently filed).
No public updates on settlement or trial dates.
Sources
.
“Here is a photo of Willits Police Officer Damian Angell, who is named as a defendant in the federal wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Nicholas Bakewell. Body camera footage from the June 5, 2025, incident clearly shows Officer Angell with his knee on Mr. Bakewell’s neck during restraint, while other officers repeatedly instructed him to ‘breathe’ and ‘relax.’ Despite his involvement in the encounter that resulted in Mr. Bakewell’s death—ruled a homicide due to restraint-associated asphyxiation—Officer Angell remains employed by the Willits Police Department.”