Family of man in Taser death accuses Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch of bias
The parents of Branch Wroth, a Forestville man who died last year while being restrained by public safety officers, have filed a complaint with the State Bar of California that alleges Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch was biased in her review of the officer-involved death.
Christopher and Marni Wroth said they believe their son’s death wasn’t fairly investigated because they are outspoken activists who have criticized Ravitch and Sonoma County law enforcement and also because of their family’s history with police agencies, including another son’s treatment while being booked into jail in a case that resulted in a $1.25 million settlement in a federal civil rights suit.
The Wroths have asked the state bar, a regulatory agency that’s part of the judicial branch, to examine whether Ravitch violated any professional conduct rules for prosecutors when she reviewed the investigation into the officers involved with Branch Wroth’s May 2017 death and cleared them of criminal wrongdoing.
Ravitch, who reviewed a copy of the complaint provided to her by The Press Democrat, defended the integrity of her office’s determination that the officers didn’t violate criminal laws.
She said she didn’t know about the Wroth family’s activism until after her report was done and she met with the family.
“The review we conducted was complete and we endeavored to find the truth, as we do in every officer-involved fatality,” Ravitch said.
Ravitch added that she was aware that Branch Wroth’s death “was very painful” for his family and she expressed her condolences to them in person and tried to answer?their questions.
Christopher Wroth, who with his wife now lives in Mount Shasta in Siskiyou County, said they filed the complaint in June.
A July 12 letter from the state bar to the Wroths indicated the agency had reviewed their complaint and forwarded it to the enforcement unit “for further investigation and prosecution, if warranted.”
A state bar spokeswoman said they cannot provide any public confirmation about complaints or investigations.
She said not all complaints are investigated.
Christopher Wroth said he decided to file a complaint after meeting with Ravitch at her office in April to go over her determination the officers acted lawfully when Branch Wroth died.
He said he felt Ravitch didn’t answer all of their questions and that there was “obvious bias in the work that was done.”
He and his wife strongly believe the officers neglected their son’s need for medical attention.
“The carelessness that was involved was really the cause” of his death, Christopher Wroth said.
Branch Wroth, 41, of Forestville, died from a heart attack after being shocked with an electric stun gun and while being restrained by Rohnert Park police officers during a May 12, 2017, encounter at a hotel room.
Staff at the Budget Inn in Rohnert Park had called police to the Redwood Drive business after Wroth didn’t vacate the room by check-out time, describing him as a “very disoriented person.”
He was under the influence of methamphetamine, according to the autopsy report.
When officers arrived, Wroth was naked and confused, telling them he believed his clothes were poisoned. He couldn’t answer basic questions such as where he lived, according to body camera video of the encounter reviewed by The Press Democrat.
Wroth had a misdemeanor warrant for his arrest because he had unexcused absences from a court-ordered drunken-?driving class, according to the family’s attorney. The officers who arrived tried to put him in handcuffs and bring him to a patrol car. But Wroth didn’t comply.
A struggle ensued and it took multiple officers, using a Taser and blows with fists and elbows, to get Wroth on the ground, where he was restrained facedown with his hands and legs behind his back.
While on the ground, Wroth stopped breathing. The officers administered CPR, but he died.
The Sheriff’s Office was brought in to investigate Wroth’s death under a countywide protocol for officer-involved incidents and deaths. Ravitch’s office reviewed their findings and found no criminal liability on the part of the officers.
Ravitch said Wroth’s death likely resulted from a combination of his drug intoxication and physical exertion resisting police.
She said the investigation showed the officers tried to convince Wroth to cooperate with them but he would not.
Four years before Branch Wroth’s death, their younger son, Esa Wroth, was shocked more than 20 times with a Taser while being booked into the Sonoma County Jail. Esa Wroth, who was 27 at the time, was being arrested on suspicion of drunken driving Jan. 2, 2013, and he struggled with correctional deputies.
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