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The Oakland Police Department released portions of video and audio captured during the in-custody death on Oct. 18, 2025, of Doug Martin, a former NFL running back. (Oakland Police Department)\u00a0<\/p>\nOakland police on Friday released a highly produced, incomplete video of the mid-October incident where former NFL running back Doug Martin died in officers\u2019 custody, raising new questions about the man\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
The release of the agency\u2019s footage came in the form of a nearly 12-minute video that included only a fraction of the body-worn camera footage recorded by officers on the morning of Martin\u2019s death. It marks the first window into how officers confronted the former NFL player on Oct. 18 and tried to subdue him, amid warnings by Martin\u2019s family that he had been suffering from a mental health crisis.<\/p>\n
The video compilation, which includes text slides describing the encounter, includes several seconds of 911 audio as police dispatchers are alerted about a man on sleeping pills engaged in an apparent break-in. It also includes select footage of the moment when officers tackled Martin to the floor, after which the former running back stops moving and falls silent, save for a brief snoring sound.<\/p>\n
The footage also includes several seconds of video depicting officers asking whether Martin was \u201cplaying possum\u201d or even breathing, as he lay face-down on the floor and handcuffed. Later, he is shown being carried out of the house by officers and being placed on a gurney, where a paramedic also questions whether he is breathing.<\/p>\n
John Burris, a civil rights attorney who represents the Martin\u2019s family, said he could make no judgements Friday on the officers\u2019 actions, given how little of the footage had been released.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a production,\u201d Burris said. \u201cThey don\u2019t have video from different angles. You don\u2019t know how long that they were holding him down, and how they were holding him down. And certainly one of the issues that\u2019s been raised is about the medical treatment as well \u2014 when paramedics got there, what did they do? You couldn\u2019t really tell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to know more about the first aid that was provided, how timely it was,\u201d Burris added. \u201cThose are legitimate questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Oakland Police Department declined to comment for this story, citing an active investigation.<\/p>\n
Oakland Police Department refused in early December to release any footage of the incident, claiming an exception to a state law that requires its disclosure within 45 days. At the time, the agency said the incident \u201cdoes not meet the definition of a \u2018critical incident,\u2019\u201d under AB 748, the law signed in 2019 to increase public access to such footage.<\/p>\n
The Alameda County coroner\u2019s bureau has yet to release Martin\u2019s autopsy or toxicology report. Shortly after Martin\u2019s death, Oakland police said the incident would be investigated by the department\u2019s homicide unit\u00a0and internal affairs bureau, as well as the Oakland City Police Commission, the Community Police Review Agency and the Alameda County District Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the DA\u2019s office also declined to comment Friday, citing an open investigation.<\/p>\n
Martin was one of the NFL\u2019s top running backs a decade ago, in a career that was also marred by injuries and off-field challenges. Most recently, he had been staying in a longtime family home on the 11000 block of Ettrick Street in the Oakland hills.<\/p>\n
Police swarmed that block around 4:15 p.m. on Oct. 18, after receiving multiple 911 calls from people living there.\u00a0Audio released Friday included a seconds-long excerpt of one 911 call, where a woman reports that Martin \u201ctakes sleeping pills and he hasn\u2019t slept for three days.\u201d<\/p>\n
It also included Ring camera footage from one house, where Martin can be seen approaching and yelling \u201cI see you in there, this is Doug Martin.\u201d He also yells the words \u201cTampa Bay and Boise State\u201d \u2014 potentially referencing places where he played football in college\u00a0and professionally \u2014 before adding \u201chelp me.\u201d While continuing to shout, he is seen in the footage released Friday breaking into a window of the house.<\/p>\n
The Oakland Police Department released portions of video and audio captured during the in-custody death on Oct. 18, 2025, of Doug Martin, a former NFL running back. (Oakland Police Department)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once inside, Martin can be heard yelling from a bathroom while officers try to coax him out. When Martin exits the bathroom, one of the officers says\u00a0\u201cwe\u2019re going to help you,\u201d as at least two officers grab Martin and take him to the floor a few feet away, the footage showed.<\/p>\n
There, while laying face-down, several officers gather around, including at least one who appears to be positioned on Martin\u2019s back.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep his legs down,\u201d one officer says, while another can be heard yelling at Martin six times to \u201cstop,\u201d as well as to \u201ccalm down.\u201d At first, Martin can be heard moaning or yelling, but he appears to grow nearly completely silent and still as officers handcuffed him.<\/p>\n
About eight minutes later \u2014 as Martin continues to lay face-down on the floor \u2014 an officer inquires about Martin\u2019s status, asking others in the room: \u201cYou think he\u2019s playing possum?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d an officer says in one video snippet, while others can heard recounting how Martin \u201cwas like wild, wild, wild,\u201d and \u201cran straight through that fence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he could just be tired,\u201d an officer adds.<\/p>\n
At that point, an officer checks Martin\u2019s neck for a pulse, after which a noise resembling snoring can be heard on the video footage.<\/p>\n
About 14 minutes after officers handcuffed Martin, officers are seen on the video footage carrying Martin out of the house, because, police said, the paramedics\u2019 gurney could not make it inside the home. Outside, someone notifies a paramedic that Martin may have been using sleeping pills, after which the paramedic responds \u201cOK, well, I guess that\u2019ll make it easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
At that moment, someone can be heard on the footage asking whether Martin is breathing. One paramedic can then be seen checking Martin\u2019s pulse.<\/p>\n
It remains unclear from the footage released Friday exactly when Martin stopped breathing. Authorities have previously said he was declared dead at a hospital.<\/p>\n
Burris said Friday that Martin\u2019s family commissioned a second autopsy, which has yet to be finalized. He said he also has yet to receive the county\u2019s autopsy or toxicology report.<\/p>\n
Burris also said he is awaiting the results of tests by a Boston clinic that is examining whether Martin suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The degenerative brain disease, often known as CTE, can cause erratic behavior, is associated with repeated head trauma and has been found in hundreds of former NFL players in recent years.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Martin\u2019s mother, Leslie Martin, said that she had yet to view the footage. She said that \u201cit\u2019s clear he was struggling from these mental health issues, and that he was having a psychotic moment.\u201d She added that the family had been \u201ctrying to get him help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a very loving person, a very giving man, very earnest,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oakland police on Friday released a highly produced, incomplete video of the mid-October incident where former NFL running…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219239,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[389,184,861,7,8,723,138,332,1529,9858,181,23,100,143,145,1904,144,407,408,385],"class_list":["post-219238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-alameda-county","tag-bay-area","tag-bay-area-crime","tag-california","tag-california-news","tag-crime","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-east-bay","tag-east-bay-crime","tag-east-oakland","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-hills","tag-oakland-news","tag-oakland-police-department","tag-police-accountability","tag-regional"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}