Bodycam Footage Raises Questions After 66-Year-Old Woman diᩚєs Following Encounter With Sacramento Police
The family of Nyota Koya, a 66-year-old woman who died after an encounter with a Sacramento police officer, has filed a wrongful-dєatᩚh lawsuit alleging excessive force and failures in the officer’s response. The case has drawn renewed attention after body-camera footage documenting the encounter was made public.
Koya was stranded in the parking lot of Haggin Oaks Golf Course in Sacramento on November 17, 2024, after her electric car’s battery reportedly ran out. Officer Matthew Sterling approached her while responding to a report of trespassing. According to court documents, he initially offered to arrange a tow truck and help her get to a shelter.
The encounter continued for more than two hours as the issue of removing her vehicle remained unresolved. Body-camera footage cited in reporting shows Sterling eventually pulling Koya from her car, pushing her face down onto the pavement and placing a knee on her back before handcuffing her.
Koya can be heard pleading for help during the struggle. The footage also shows her appearing to lose consciousness as the officer attempts to move her toward his patrol vehicle.
Sterling called for paramedics, who arrived at the scene shortly afterward. They found Koya without a pulse and transported her to Mercy San Juan Medical Center. She never regained consciousness and died on November 24, 2024, one week after the encounter.
Her daughter, Nathifa Wright, said she has been left with unanswered questions about what happened to her mother and whether the police department conducted a thorough investigation. The family’s lawsuit names the City of Sacramento, the police department, Sterling and former Police Chief Katherine Lester as defendants.
The complaint includes claims of excessive force, wrongful dєatᩚh and unlawful detention. The family is seeking damages and greater accountability for the events leading to Koya’s dєatᩚh.
The medical examiner attributed Koya’s dєatᩚh to complications from pulmonary thromboembolism, a condition in which a blood clot travels to the lungs, and classified the manner of dєatᩚh as natural. The city has disputed whether police conduct caused her dєatᩚh, according to reporting on the lawsuit.
Sterling remains employed by the Sacramento Police Department, city officials confirmed to The Sacramento Bee. Officials declined to comment further because the litigation is ongoing and personnel matters are confidential.
The case raises broader questions about how police handle vulnerable people during prolonged encounters, how officers respond when someone appears to be in medical distress, and what information should be made public when a person diᩚєs after being restrained.
For Koya’s daughter, the lawsuit is an effort to obtain answers about her mother’s final hours and seek accountability for what the family believes happened.
Source: dailymail
