Brandon Zapata’s death at La Gran Plaza ruled homicide by Tarrant County medical examiner

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled as homicide the death of the man who experienced a medical emergency after being restrained and handcuffed by security officers at La Gran Plaza in April.

Brandon Zapata, 20, was pronounced dead on April 11, less than an hour after being detained by security officers, including an off-duty Fort Worth police officer, at the south Fort Worth shopping center.

This week the medical examiner listed his manner of death as homicide and his cause of death as acute asthma exacerbation complicated by mechanical asphyxia and methamphetamine.

The Fort Worth Police Department declined to comment on the ruling, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.

“All findings will be turned over to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office for review and grand jury presentation, which is standard operating procedure for the Fort Worth Police Department,” a police spokesperson said in an email Friday to the Star-Telegram.

Zapata’s mother, Gloria Ortiz, filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Sept. 22 in Tarrant County against the companies that own and manage La Gran Plaza.

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Ortiz is suing Town Center Mall L.P., Town Center Property LLC, Boxer Property Finance L.P., Grupo Zocalo L.P., Grupo Zocalo Management LLC, Boxer RE L.P. and Boxer GM L.P. Ortiz also mentions the two security guards, identified as John Doe Number One and John Doe Number Two in her lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that the security personnel at La Gran Plaza “falsely imprisoned” Zapata before wrestling him to the ground, putting his hands behind his back, handcuffing him, putting him on his stomach, kneeling on his back and holding “him in that position for several minutes.”

“As a result of Defendants’ actions, Brandon was unable to get emergency medical care, stopped breathing and died,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit alleges that La Gran Plaza owners failed in their responsibility to hire, train and supervise their employees and are liable for gross negligence.

The companies’ failure to train and supervise the security guards and the actions of the guards themselves were the underlying cause of Zapata’s death, the lawsuit states.

La Gran Plaza officials were not available for comment by phone on Friday.

Ortiz is requesting a trial by jury and “damages in an amount within the jurisdictional limits of the Court,” according to the lawsuit.

Police have said Zapata was “acting erratically,” and that is why security guards, including the off-duty Fort Worth officer, restrained him and put him in handcuffs. Witness accounts and video footage obtained from police and bystanders suggest Zapata was in severe distress before a struggle with security officers that ended in his death.

A witness told the Star-Telegram that Zapata came into the mall yelling and asking for help and water. He was pounding on his chest and said he couldn’t breathe, according to the witness.

Cellphone video provided to the Star-Telegram by a witness also appears to show a man who was walking by stop to help the off-duty officer restrain Zapata, with both men kneeling on Zapata’s back at one point as they held him down and tried to handcuff him.

More Fort Worth police officers arrived around that time and body-camera footage shows Zapata groaning on the floor while lying face-down with his hands restrained above his head in handcuffs. About a minute-and-a-half later, he appeared to stop moving or making sounds as officers worked to handcuff him behind his back. After he was cuffed, an officer sat Zapata up and told him to breathe and “wake up.”

“Breathe, breathe,” the officer can be heard saying, in the video. After realizing Zapata was not responding, officers removed the handcuffs, laid him on the floor and began CPR. The officers providing first aid say a couple of times in the video that he has a pulse but it is weak. An officer is heard saying that he believes Zapata might have smoked something, and the officers attempt to give Zapata Narcan, the video shows.

Police said officers and paramedics tried to revive Zapata, but they were unsuccessful and he was officially pronounced dead less than an hour later at a local hospital.

Zapata’s family has questioned why he was detained in the first place. At a press conference in April, Zapata’s cousin Reuben Garcia said they didn’t know why the 20-year-old went to La Gran Plaza shopping center on April 11, but the family believes his death could have been avoided.

“We’re trying to get the correct answers,” he said.

The family said they saw extensive bruising on Zapata’s back and shoulders when his body was brought to the funeral home. Ortiz also said her son suffered from asthma and didn’t have his inhaler with him. The family said that they believe Zapata’s erratic behavior was a result of an asthma attack and that the security officers’ actions impeded his breathing.