OREGON, Ohio —
Editor's note: A previous version of this article had a slight misspelling of attorney Jacqueline Greene's last name.
Officers from two area police departments and one local hospital are facing a lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges there was excessive use of force by police officers from the Genoa and Oregon police departments against Mark Silva, a man who was pulled over last year for a traffic stop. The lawsuit also alleges improper medical response by Mercy Health St. Charles.
Silva's son, Mark Silva Jr., said the way his father was treated was "wrong and inhumane."
Silva was pulled over on Oct. 15 of last year for a traffic stop.
"He was in the midst of a mental health episode and this was immediately apparent to anybody who would have seen him at the time, including the officers," said attorney Jacqueline Greene. "They were notified of that."
Greene said Silva was taken to a hospital for evaluation and afterward, a Genoa police officer was escorting him back to a police cruiser when Silva started to walk away.
"Mr. Silva was still in this altered mental state at the time," Greene said.
Greene said rather than deescalating or taking a more compassionate approach, the officer tased Silva multiple times. Oregon police eventually came for backup and Silva was restrained.
"The officers were sitting on his back, pushing his face into the ground, holding his arms up above his head onto the ground, pushing on his shoulders around his, you know, the upper part of his back," Greene said.
Greene said it is known that restraining someone in a prone position with pressure on their back, shoulders or head is dangerous. She said police should be trained that this is a dangerous tactic that should not be used.
Greene said it was during the restraining that Silva became unresponsive.
"He had already stopped moving and they pulled his limp arms behind him and handcuffed him," Greene said.
According to Greene and body camera footage, an AED was brought out but never used.
"They didn't immediately begin CPR or chest compressions or anything like that," Greene said. "They sat there and kind of talked for a little bit. Eventually, a hospital employee was made aware of what was going on and some people from the hospital came out."
Greene said it wasn't until Silva was brought into the hospital and into a room that chest compressions began. She said his brain was deprived of oxygen for a long time, something that can happen when someone is held in a prone position.
"That is a well-known cause of deprivation of oxygen of this, what we call positional asphyxia," Greene said. "Then after that occurred, there was this delay in rendering the kind of medical care intervention that could have prevented the type of catastrophic brain injury he ultimately suffered."
Silva is currently neurologically unresponsive and requires 24/7 care, according to Greene. Silva Jr. has become his father's legal guardian and his caretaker.
"I can't even put it in words how devastating this is, you know, our whole world has been flipped upside down," Silva Jr. said.
Silva Jr. said, luckily, he has a big, loving family that helps.
"Everybody does their part as well," he said. "It's been tough. I just try to take one task at a time, one step at a time. Just try to be a good son for my father."
The lawsuit was just filed, though, so Greene said the case could take years.
For the family, the goal is justice and accountability.
"It's so surreal," Silva Jr. said. "It's just like a bad dream you can't wake out of. We just want justice, and for this not to happen to anybody else and their family, you know, it's been a nightmare ever since this incident."
Silva Jr. said his father's incident is part of a bigger issue.
"Police brutality in this country is a very serious issue, especially to us Latino Americans and African Americans," Silva Jr. said. "This happens way too far often, you know, and this needs to be solved. This is just getting way out of hand."
Oregon Police Chief Brandon Begin released the following statement:
"The Oregon Police Division denies any wrongdoing in this matter and we will contest the claims through the proper proceedings."
A representative from Mercy Health said "Mercy Health does not comment on pending litigation."
Chief Matthew Herrig from the Genoa Police Department said the department's policy is to not comment during pending litigation.
The full lawsuit is below. Viewer discretion is advised as some of the contents of the lawsuit may be disturbing.