Clovis police release body cam footage of woman who died after encounter with officers
The Clovis Police Department has released the body worn camera video showing what happened the night Isabel De La Torre died after struggling with police.
The family of De La Torre, 35, has filed a wrongful death suit against the Clovis Police Department, whose officers responded to a 911 call for help on March 24 around midnight.
In the federal lawsuit, the family alleges De La Torre needed medical attention, but instead was met with excessive force that caused her death.
The nearly 20-minute video begins with an officer interviewing the 911 caller who said she called for help after De La Torre began acting erratically. The caller thought De La Torre might be having a stroke.
It was later determined De La Torre had a potentially toxic level of methamphetamine in her system, Clovis police said.
Later in the video, two officers can be seen knocking on the front door of a second-story apartment in the 200 block of W. Alamos Ave.
The officers knock several times and announce they were with the Clovis Police Department. After about a minute, one of the officers said he heard movement inside the apartment as the other officer opened the unlocked door.
A frantic woman inside the apartment told the officers she thought De La Torre, who was inside the bathroom, could be having a seizure.
An officer and her K-9 arrived along with several additional officers. Once inside the apartment, the officer positioned herself and the dog outside the bathroom door where De La Torre was hiding.
That officer was outside the bathroom door for about a minute before De La Torre bolted from the room and was immediately confronted by the dog.
As the dog bit her in the upper arm, De La Torre spun around and fell to the ground. The officers stepped back and allowed the officer who had the dog to try and get De La Torre under the control.
De La Torre screamed something unintelligible as the dog continued to maintain its bite on her. An officer told De La Torre to relax, saying “we are here to help you.”
As soon as the canine released from De La Torre three other officers tried to handcuff her, but she refused.
A short time later, De La Torre can no longer be heard. She appears to have stopped breathing as one of the officers can be seen doing chest compressions to try and regain her pulse.
She started breathing again as EMTs arrived and placed her on a backboard to be taken to the hospital.
De La Torre died 24 hours later at Community Regional Medical Center.
Clovis police would not comment further on the video, other than to say the investigation is continuing.
Edgar Flores with Gonzalez & Flores Law Firm in Las Vegas, who represents the De La Torre family, could not be reached for comment.
