Richmond police officers were cleared in a federal civil trial over the 2021 death of Ivan Gutzalenko, after a jury returned a verdict Monday in less than two hours following closing arguments. The case focused on what happened when officers found Gutzalenko in distress and restrained him, including the use of a sedative administered by a responding paramedic.
Gutzalenko, 47, had been a nurse and father of two, according to the family’s account presented in court. Witnesses reported he was acting erratically and bleeding from a cut while walking in and out of several nearby Richmond businesses before officers encountered him near San Pablo Avenue and Solano Avenue.
The court heard that officers Tom Tran, Cedric Tagorda, and Mark Hall—who is now retired—ultimately handcuffed Gutzalenko and gave him a sedative identified as Versed, according to testimony involving the paramedic who administered it, Damon Richardson. Afterward, the jury heard that Gutzalenko became unresponsive and was pronounced dead at an Oakland hospital about 90 minutes later.
Gutzalenko’s estranged wife, Honey Gutzalenko, brought the lawsuit. The complaint alleged that the city of Richmond maintained unconstitutional policies that allowed excessive force and failed to train officers on risks tied to positional asphyxia. The complaint initially also named American Medical Response and Richardson, but those parties were settled for an undisclosed amount two days before the trial began.
In their closing arguments, family attorney Ben Nisenbaum told the jury that the officers’ actions were part of what led to Gutzalenko’s death. Nisenbaum also said the drug was not the main factor, pointing instead to expert testimony that Gutzalenko died from prone restraint asphyxia that caused lethal acidosis, attributed in court to Dr. Arnold Josselson’s testimony.
Nisenbaum’s argument to the jury included a direct attribution to the restraint process: “We’re here because the defendants, and especially Officer Tran, killed a man,” he said, referencing Josselson’s testimony about prone restraint asphyxia. “Who conducted that restraint? Well you’re looking at them.”
Defense attorney Kevin Gilbert argued that the plaintiffs failed to meet the burden of proof and said the officers followed proper protocols while trying to handcuff an uncooperative Gutzalenko so medical responders could treat him. Gilbert told the jury the case was “a tragedy,” but argued that the plaintiffs misrepresented facts in the lawsuit and did not identify specific evidence supporting their theories.
Gilbert said the evidence showed “no blows, no knee strikes, no hits, none of that,” and argued that the officers used holds and leverage to help Gutzalenko get into handcuffs and receive medical care. “The officers were using holds and leverage to try and help Mr. Gutzalenko get in handcuffs and get medical care. (There was) no other force,” Gilbert said.
The trial included testimony from the three officers and from medical experts and family members. Plaintiffs argued officer Tran’s knee put pressure on Gutzalenko’s torso while he was restrained, while the defense argued that Gutzalenko’s methamphetamine addiction and poor physical condition were the cause of the medical distress he was experiencing before officers touched him.
Nisenbaum, the family’s attorney, declined to comment after the verdict, and the Richmond Police Officers Association did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.