{"id":373606,"date":"2026-06-24T22:24:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T22:24:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/373606\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T22:24:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T22:24:17","slug":"family-of-former-nfl-running-back-doug-martin-sues-oakland-police-officers-paramedics-in-october-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/373606\/","title":{"rendered":"Family of former NFL running back Doug Martin sues Oakland, police officers, paramedics in October death"},"content":{"rendered":"

The family of former NFL player Doug Martin filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the city of Oakland, five of its police officers and a paramedic company in the former All-Pro running back\u2019s October death<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Martin\u2019s mother and father, Leslie and Douglas Martin, claimed in the federal lawsuit that their son died of \u201crestraint asphyxia\u201d while in the custody of Oakland police.<\/a> The filing \u2014 which also faulted a Falck paramedic crew\u2019s \u201cfailure to provide timely medical care\u201d \u2014 does not list a desired monetary amount sought from each entity or the officers.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit adds a new level of scrutiny to Doug Martin\u2019s death<\/a> in the predawn hours of Oct. 18, when he was confronted by Oakland police responding to multiple calls of the retired NFL running back breaking into a house near his family\u2019s longtime home on the 11000 block of Ettrick Street, in a neighborhood near the Oakland Zoo.<\/p>\n

\"TampaTampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin (22) walks off the field after a staggeringly successful day against the Oakland Raiders in an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012 at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. Martin rushed for 251 yards and four touchdowns, as the Buccaneers won, 42-32. (D. Ross Cameron\/Staff)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oakland police initially said a \u201cbrief struggle\u201d ensued when officers contacted him inside a neighbor\u2019s house and tried to detain him. The agency said Doug Martin then became unresponsive after being taken into custody.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit filed this week claimed Doug Martin was \u201cplaced face down while one or more officers pressed on his back,\u201d and that \u201cafter a period of time\u201d he was rolled onto his side. At that point, \u201cMartin was unresponsive seemingly unconscious; however, the defendant officers initially believed he was sleeping or pretending\u201d to sleep, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

At some point, officers called for medical attention. Yet Martin\u2019s parents claimed their son \u201cdid not receive immediate medical attention,\u201d and instead \u201cFalck paramedics arrived over 15 minutes after the call for service and, and when they arrived, did not promptly provide medical care.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawsuit specifically named Oakland police officers Riryon Machado, Justin Bermudez, Bradley Potts and Anderson Kitts as defendants, along with a sergeant, identified in the filing only as M. Smith. Also listed as defendants were the city of Oakland and Falck Northern California, along with its parent company Falck USA.<\/p>\n

Messages sent Wednesday by this news outlet seeking comment from spokespeople for city of Oakland and the Oakland Police Department, as well as Falck, were not immediately returned.<\/p>\n

In March, Oakland police released video snippets<\/a> of their encounter with Doug Martin, which offered the first window into how the officers tried to subdue him that morning.<\/p>\n

The highly-produced video compilation included a seconds-long excerpt of one 911 call, where a woman reported that Martin \u201ctakes sleeping pills and he hasn\u2019t slept for three days.\u201d It also included doorbell camera footage from one house, where Martin could be seen approaching and yelling \u201cI see you in there, this is Doug Martin.\u201d He also yelled the words \u201cTampa Bay and Boise State\u201d \u2014 potentially referencing places where he played football in college and professionally \u2014 before adding \u201chelp me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once inside, Martin could be heard yelling from a bathroom while officers tried to coax him out. When Martin exited the bathroom, one of the officers said \u201cwe\u2019re going to help you,\u201d as at least two officers grabbed Martin and took him to the floor a few feet away, the footage showed.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe 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

There, while laying face-down, several officers gathered around, including at least one who appeared to be positioned on Martin\u2019s back.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep his legs down,\u201d one officer said, while another could be heard yelling at Martin six times to \u201cstop,\u201d as well as to \u201ccalm down.\u201d At first, Martin could be heard moaning or yelling, but he appeared to grow nearly completely silent and still as officers handcuffed him.<\/p>\n

About eight minutes later \u2014 as Martin continued to lay face-down on the floor \u2014 an officer inquired about Martin\u2019s status, asking others in the room: \u201cYou think he\u2019s playing possum?\u201d One officer said he wasn\u2019t sure, while\u00a0others could 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 added. At that point, an officer checked Martin\u2019s neck for a pulse, after which a noise resembling snoring could be heard on the video footage.<\/p>\n

About 14 minutes after officers handcuffed Martin, officers could be seen carrying Martin out of the house, because, police said, the paramedics\u2019 gurney could not make it inside the home. Outside, someone notified a paramedic that Martin may have been using sleeping pills, after which the paramedic responded, \u201cOK, well, I guess that\u2019ll make it easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

At that moment, someone could be heard on the footage asking whether Martin is breathing. One paramedic could then be seen checking Martin\u2019s pulse. It was never clear from the footage exactly when Martin stopped breathing, and authorities have previously said he was declared dead at a hospital.<\/p>\n

Oakland police have so far refused to release the entirety of the body-worn video footage<\/a> captured by their officers during the incident, along with all of the 911 recordings and dispatch logs. The agency has said the encounter did not amount to a \u201ccritical incident\u201d \u2014 a key threshold that would require the agency to release officer body-camera video.<\/p>\n

Doug Martin\u2019s family had previously issued a statement saying they \u201cwere actively seeking medical assistance for him and had contacted local authorities for support\u201d before his pre-dawn encounter with police. They added that Doug Martin \u201cbattled mental health challenges that profoundly impacted his personal and professional life,\u201d and that he fled his home that night after \u201cfeeling overwhelmed and disoriented.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neurologists were expected to examine whether Doug Martin suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, which is a degenerative brain disease found in a growing number of professional athletes. It remained unclear Wednesday whether that testing had been completed.<\/p>\n

Check back for updates to this developing story.<\/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":"The family of former NFL player Doug Martin filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the city of Oakland, five…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373607,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[389,184,861,7,8,723,138,332,1529,9858,2333,1533,181,23,100,752,143,145,1904,144,407,182,408,127],"class_list":["post-373606","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-editors-picks","tag-keywee","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-nfl","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-hills","tag-oakland-news","tag-oakland-police-department","tag-pm-report","tag-police-accountability","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373606","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=373606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}