The attorneys for the Guatemalan teen charged with manslaughter in connection to a Florida officer’s death are pushing for his client’s case to be dropped.
Virgilio Aguilar Mendez was charged because St. Johns County Sgt. Michael Kunovich died from a heart attack following an encounter with the teen in May 2023, according to ABC News. Mendez also is charged with resisting an officer with violence, another felony.
The then-18-year-old was speaking to his mother on the phone as he walked past a motel when Kunovich approached him, stating that he looked “suspicious.”
Body camera footage shows Mendez slowly walking along on the sidewalk when Kunovich orders him to stop and starts interrogating him.
Mendez did not respond to the officer in English but in another language, which his attorney, Phillip Arroyo, confirmed is Mam. It’s an indigenous language reportedly spoken in the teen’s community in his home country, per ABC News.
In the video, Mendez explains in halting English that he was eating and informs the officer that he’s staying at the motel. The teen tells the officer that he doesn’t speak English as he requests identification and asks if he has any weapons.
“No,” Mendez responded.
“Well, you know what that is,” Kunovich said while telling the teen to turn around before grabbing his arm. “Don’t pull away from me.”
At this moment, Mendez attempted to walk away, but Kunovich and another officer pushed him to the ground. The teen can be heard saying “I’m sorry,” “Stop,” and “No” repeatedly while the struggle ensued.
“Do you want to get Tased,” one officer asked. “Get on the ground.”
“No problem,” Mendez responded.
During the incident, Mendez was shocked several times. The teen reiterated that he does not speak English, seemingly not understanding their commands. He also called for his family. The video shows the moment officers handcuffed him.
Kunovich suffered a fatal heart attack, collapsing 8 minutes after the struggle, and a medical examiner concluded that “emotional stress” from the incident could have played a role, First Coast News reported.
Police claimed that Mendez held a pocket knife, but the weapon was not found until he was restrained, according to the report. Mendez’s team explained that the knife was used for cutting melons at work.
Earlier this week, on Jan. 29, Assistant Public Defender Rosemarie Peoples filed a motion listing reasons Mendez is not culpable for Kunovich’s death, and the charge should be dropped.
“Sgt. Kunovich’s death by natural causes (heart attack) after an arrest was not a reasonably foreseeable consequence of any action taken by Mr. Aguilar Mendez; therefore the manslaughter charge against him must be dismissed due to lack of legal causation,” Peoples reportedly wrote in the motion.
Hundreds of thousands of people have called for Mendez’s release. As of Wednesday, more than half a million people have signed a Change.org. petition to support him.
“If Virgilio is convicted and sentenced to prison for this incident it will create an extremely dangerous precedent in this country; because if a police officer dies from a heart attack during a police-citizen encounter, anyone in this country can be charged, convicted and sentenced to life in prison for that officer’s death,” the petition says. “This precedent would run contrary to the fundamental tenants of freedom and Liberty, which are scared in our country.”
Per First Coast News, Arroyo said he would pursue relief in federal court if his client is not released from custody.
