Medical Examiner rules Luis Rodriguez's death a homicide

The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner said Wednesday that the death of Luis Rodriguez was ruled a homicide.

Rodriguez died in the early morning hours of Feb. 15th after being detained at the Warren Theatre in Moore. His wife, Nair, recorded the incident on her cell phone.

On Wednesday, almost two months after his death, the state Medical Examiner said Rodriguez's death was from cardiac arrhythmia caused by physical restraint and ruled it a homicide. The ME cautioned that homicide is a medical term that does not denote wrong doing or criminal intent.

Family attorney Michael Brooks-Jiménez issued this following statement after the ruling:

"We were confident all along that this was a homicide. Today, the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's office has confirmed this. We are in the process of reviewing the report. We ask that you please respect the family and allow them the opportunity to accept this news in peace."

The Moore Police Department held a press conference Wednesday to discuss the Medical Examiner's findings. The department said it is still waiting on the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to wrap up its case.

"From our understanding, prior health conditions coupled with the struggle with officers lead to the death of Mr. Rodriguez," said Moore Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jeremy Lewis.

FOX25 legal analyst David Slane says the wording in the ME's autopsy seems to still leave questions.

"I think the ME's report may cause more confusion than it does help," Slane said.

The autopsy report says Rodriguez died of cardiac arrhythmia due to physical restraint. But it goes on to say the noted injuries are not sufficient by themselves to cause Rodriguez's death. The Medical Examiner's office concludes by labeling the death a homicide during an attempted restraint by law enforcement.

"The classification of homicide for the purpose of death certification is a neutral term, neither indicates nor implies criminal intent," said Sgt. Lewis.

Slane says the ME's office should not be using the word restraint at all.

"I think they're almost trying to justify police action, and that's inappropriate," he said. "I think they should have just said a physical altercation which brought about the heart."

Slane believes whether or not any officer is charged, will ultimately come down to what a grand jury or the District Attorney thinks.

Sgt. Lewis says the three officers involved in the incident with Rodriguez are still on paid administrative leave. The investigation has been turned over to the OSBI.

Five officers were called to the parking lot on a domestic disturbance in the early morning hours of February 15th. Three are Moore Police officers, the other two are security officers at Warren Theatre. According to the police report, one of the security officers was an off-duty Moore officer, the other two were off-duty Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Game Wardens.

Police reviewed the video and say the officers did not have any malicious intent. They returned the phone to Nair last week but the family waited until this week to release it.

In the video, Nair tells police she got into an altercation with her daughter day of the Luis'' death. She admits to hitting her 19-year-old daughter in the video for 'violating rules in her house'.

One officer holds Rodriguez's head down and the others are on top of him as they handcuff his hands behind his back.

As she explains what happened, she stops mid-sentence and asks if her husband is okay, saying he's not moving. She then says that police killed her husband and asks someone to tell her that he's alive as he is placed on a stretcher.

In a statement released by the family's attorney, Michael Brooks-Jiménez says the Rodriguez family went to a movie at the Warren Theatre when Nair and her teenage daughter got into an argument. Nair eventually walked to the car with Luis following to calm her down. That's when the attorney says police confronted him.

The attorney say Luis wasn't involved in the domestic disturbance that the police were called to but the officers focused their attention on him, taking him to the ground and using pepper spray on him.

Jiménez says five officers forced him down and handcuffed him as he was unconscious or possibly already dead.

The responding officers said he failed to cooperate with them and sprayed him with pepper spray before handcuffing him. Autopsy results are pending.

Police say three officers involved in the incident are on administrative leave.

The Moore Police Department asked the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation for assistance in the investigation into his death.