William Aguilar v. Paul Hodson, et al.

Erik Aguilar was a New Bedford man who died in the custody of the New Bedford police on July 22, 2010. The entire incident was recorded on surveillance video. A convenience store employee called the police seeking help for Mr. Aguilar. New Bedford police officer Paul Hodson arrived at the store, spoke with Mr. Aguilar, then tried to handcuff him. Officer Hodson then took Mr. Aguilar to the ground, sprayed him with pepper spray, handcuffed him with his hands behind his back, left him lying face down on the pavement, and applied pressure to his back. Mr. Aguilar struggled to breathe because he was face down with his hands cuffed behind him. Officer Hodson and other New Bedford police officers casually stood around as Mr. Aguilar was lying face down until his heart stopped beating. The police did not call for medical care until they learned Mr. Aguilar had no pulse. Only then did the police officers sit him up. Even then, they did not start CPR until over four minutes after learning he had no pulse. It was too late.