Stanislaus County sued for wrongful death after man’s neck is broken during arrest by deputies

Stanislaus County is being sued in federal court for the alleged wrongful death of a homeless man after an encounter with law enforcement that was described in court filings as “an unjustified and excessive display of force.”

Anthony Silva, 40, was detained by Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office deputies at the Riverbank Community Center on Oct. 8, 2022, during the city’s Cheese and Wine Festival. While handcuffed, Silva was “forcibly slammed” to the ground as he was searched, according to the complaint filed on his family’s behalf.

Silva’s neck broke as a result — rendering him paralyzed from the neck down. He was moved from the ground to a bench, where he remained until medical care arrived about a half-hour later. Silva died from his injuries almost a year later on Sept. 10, 2023.

“These tragic events are a direct consequence of the deeply flawed policies and practices at the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department,” the complaint reads. “The department’s inadequate and deficient training procedures have not only failed to prevent such instances of excessive force, but also, the department has ratified the unconstitutional conduct of their officers time and time again.”

The Sheriff’s Office declined to comment for this article. “It is the policy of this office not to comment on matters of pending litigation,” it said in an email in response to questions from the Modesto Bee.

On whether there was an internal investigation by the Sheriff’s Office, the complaint says only, “On information and belief, the Deputy Does [as those who responded to the scene are called] were not disciplined, reprimanded in connection with this incident.”

The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the use of force by the deputies. A spokesperson told The Bee it is “still gathering materials that are pertinent to the review.”

Why deputies were called to the community center isn’t clear, other than it was some type of “disturbance,” according to Silva’s mother and the law office representing the family. But recently released body camera footage show every second of what happened once deputies arrived.

What happened to Anthony Silva?

The following are accounts taken from interviews, body camera video and the federal complaint referenced earlier in this story.

Silva was experiencing homelessness when deputies detained him. His mother, Dorothy Heimbach, said the pandemic years had been rough for them both and that he had no permanent place to say. He regularly would sleep under the cover of a gazebo at the Riverbank Community Center, according to Heimbach.

The law office of Dale Galipo, representing Heimbach, maintains that whatever Silva was doing to elicit a call for service was not violent and was not illegal.

Body camera footage shows deputies arriving at the community center on bicycles. They approach Silva, who is standing in the middle of a lawn area with his arms spread. Deputies immediately place him on the ground and attempt to place his hands behind his back and into handcuffs.

The audio portion of this footage does not start until about 30 seconds in, so what was said upon the deputies’ initial contact with Silva apparently went unrecorded. As the audio begins, a deputy is heard telling Silva he is under arrest.

As deputies try to handcuff Silva, he screams, the video shows. His words are mostly unintelligible until deputies are able to secure the cuffs. Silva then turns over on the ground and asks the deputies, “What are you doing? You know my name and everything, what are you doing? Why’d you do that to my hand?”

Heimbach and Galipo’s office have said that deputies knew who Silva was and that he had a mental disability.

While Silva is lying on the grass, a deputy in the video is seen pointing to someone in the distance and directing another deputy to “tell her to turn her camera off.”

Silva is taken to a nearby gazebo, the same one he would regularly sleep under, to have his possessions searched. During the search, Silva is stood up — at which point he tries to jostle away from deputies. The deputies then put him down onto the concrete head-first. According to the complaint, this is the moment that two of Silva’s vertebrae were fractured, causing his quadriplegia.

Silva immediately expresses pain and repeats the words, “I can’t breathe,” the footage shows. He then says, “I’m paralyzed.” to which a deputy responds, “No, you’re not.”

As Silva moans on the ground, a deputy is heard saying, “You just caused more trouble for yourself, now you’re on a felony.”

Deputies then move Silva back onto the bench as they call for medical responders. As they all wait, deputies continue their search and find a bag of what one deputy theorizes is methamphetamine. They ask Silva when he last took it, so they can inform medical personnel.

Deputies continue to try to communicate with Silva — who they find incoherent. When Silva won’t answer their questions, one tells him, “You’re not even listening to me.”

At one point, a deputy ask another deputy if he was “red,” meaning recording, and then asks him, “You wanna mute real quick?” The audio is then muted for several seconds.

At no point in the video are deputies heard explaining why they are detaining him, nor reading him his Miranda rights.

An ambulance doesn’t arrive until about 30 minutes later because one wasn’t available, deputies say as they talk among themselves in the video.

What the federal complaint alleges

In February 2023, Silva filed a claim for damages against the county. Upon his death, Heimbach took over as the plaintiff in the lawsuit.

Heimbach’s attorneys allege that Riverbank deputies are not properly trained. In addition to the county being named as a defendant in the case, 10 “Does” are listed, described as employees of Stanislaus County. Presumably these “Does” include the deputies who detained Silva.

Heimbach’s complaint alleges a number of things, including that deputies detained her son without probable cause, used excessive force, failed to provide him with timely medical aid and violated his civil rights as someone with a mental disability and who was homeless.

“It could happen to anybody because they’re not here to protect and serve. ... We want good cops on the force, not bad cops. I want them to serve their time like we would if we were doing something wrong,” Heimbach said.

She said the pandemic years were rough for both her and Silva. The death of her mother and Silva’s girlfriend meant they didn’t have a steady place to say. The fact that Silva was experiencing homelessness was cited in the complaint as part of its argument that his civil rights were violated.

His time spent staying outside the Riverbank Community Center is why deputies were familiar with Silva. The complaint alleges that deputies knew he had a mental illness.

In addition to being paralyzed from the neck down, Silva experienced seizures and heart attacks during his nearly yearlong hospital stay. Heimbach said doctors told her he’d never be able to breathe or eat again without the help of a feeding tube and a ventilator and would be bedridden the rest of his life. He died after being taken off life support.

“He just gave up. He told me, ‘Momma, please, let me go.’ He wasn’t going to survive it,” Heimbach said.

The complaint further alleges that moving Silva after putting him on the concrete gazebo floor worsened his injuries. The time it took for medical aid to arrive is also listed as contributing to his death.

Complaints against Riverbank Police Services

In the complaint are criticisms of the Sheriff’s Office’s Riverbank Division, specifically with strong opinions coming from Heimbach and her attorneys. Riverbank contracts with the Sheriff’s Office for its police services.

“It’s sad but the cops in riverbank are are brutal. They go too far,” said Heimbach. “They’re young and they’re stupid, as far as I’m concerned.”

Meanwhile, Heimbach hopes that law enforcement can be held accountable just as the public is. “They should be treated just like we get treated,” she said. “We do something wrong, we go to jail, or we get our car towed, or something. If we murder somebody, we go to prison, you know, and they should be treated like this.”