Family of Angelo Quinto Reaches $7.5 Million Settlement with Antioch

Image c/o Beth LaBerge/KQED

By Edith Cuevas 
News Reporter

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The family of a Navy veteran who died in 2020 while in police custody has settled a federal lawsuit with the city of Antioch for $7.5 million. Angelo Quinto was suffering from a mental health crisis when a police officer pressed a knee to his neck for five minutes. 
 
The lawsuit alleged that the responding officers of the Antioch Police Department used excessive force when attempting to restrain Quinto. According to the East Bay Times, Quinto’s death was initially ruled accidental, with the pathologist deeming the cause as “excited delirium”. This term has been primarily associated with cases that involved police force. According to NBC Bay Area, the Quinto’s family attorney stated during a deposition that the term “excited delirium” is a phony cause of death. 
 
It wasn’t until after pressure from the Quinto's family attorney that a second autopsy was performed, and asphyxia was determined to be the cause of death. 
 
Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton decided not to file criminal charges against the officers involved in the restraint. According to NBC, county prosecutors alleged that Quinto was under the influence of drugs and that he died from the disputed excited delirium syndrome. 
 
Since his death in 2020, the Quinto family has been active in calling for police reform. The family has had success in creating the City of Antioch’s first mental health response team. The City of Antioch also adopted a police oversight committee composed of 7 citizens of the city. 
 

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