WEST PALM BEACH, FL-- As the fourth anniversary of his death approaches, the family of Ronald Lewis insists that he was killed by West Palm Beach Police in a bungled attempt to restrain him.
The officers were never criminally charged but the civil case, built on graphic video is making its way to the nation's highest court.
When the state attorney chose not to prosecute, the Lewis family sued the city of West Palm Beach for 'wrongful death' in U.S. District Court.
When that was thrown out, the case went to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals which also rejected it.
The city argues that should be the end of the matter.
The family says look at the video tape.
What is clear and undisputed is that Donald Lewis was disoriented, on drugs and not obeying the order of Raymond Shaw the first officer on the scene. But was he a danger to anyone but himself?
What followed, with the crime show 'Cops" on the scene videotaping it, was a series of maneuvers to restrain Lewis by five officers who used handcuffs, chokeholds, leg restraints and eventually a hobble cord described as a 'total appendage restraint position' which bound Lewis's hands and feet together to take him down.
"He can't breathe," says his father watching the grainy image on his TV screen.
At the Lewis family home, where a small shrine in their son's honor has been up for nearly four years, the raw footage that the show 'COPS' never aired is shown.
Lewis's father can watch. His mother cannot bear to see the replay.
The family says it received the tape from a sympathetic member of law enforcement whom the Lewis's say believed the officers on the scene used unnecessary force.
At one point the sergeant on the scene asks a chilling question. He says, "Have we reached a state of unconsciousness here, gentlemen?"
As more officers arrive on the scene Lewis continues to struggle but is hogtied. Suddenly there is alarm and a call for an ambulance.
The family lawyer says Lewis had been asphyxiated.
"My take was that they killed him on camera... a number of 265 pound plus men that placed their knees on the back of his neck which is eventually what killed him... and they broke the bone in his neck," says attorney Ronald J.Kurpiers.
Kurpiers says the tape clearly shows Lewis being incapacitated by a choke hold, and then dropped when police try to move him to the sidewalk.
Dr. Michael Baden, a famed medical examiner, reviewed the autopsy results and the video taped footage from 'Cops' and came to this conclusion:
"In my opinion the cause of Mr. Lewis's death was asphyxia due to neck compression while being restrained by police.
The manner of death is homicide. I do not find sufficient evidence to support a diagnosis of cocaine-induced delirium."
Dr. Baden suggests that compression on the right side of Lewis's neck, when he was bound and face down, killed him.
The officers were never charged. Then State attorney Barry Krischer determined at the time: "It is clear from the video that no law enforcement officer on the scene used excessive or unnecessary force to control Lewis prior to his respiratory failure."
But the Lewis family believes there is a clear case of excessive force and says it will pursue the civil case to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.
"When you get a call saying your child died in Iraq, that's different than when you see your one and only son die... it's devastating... It's burned into your memory forever," said Linda Lewis.
The video was viewed by the city and the judges in both cases.
The city of West Palm Beach released this statement:
"We understand the sorrow felt by the family and friends of Mr. Lewis. The video is an example of the difficult situations faced by our officers every day and in this case the city prevailed in two separate court decisions."
