Garden Grove officers found not responsible for the death of Ozzy Tuaila that occurred in Sept. 2021

A man seen banging his head against the ground and the door of a building in Garden Grove died at a hospital after police attempted to restrain him Wednesday, officials said Thursday, Sept. 2.

A member of a cleaning crew called police to report that a man was banging his head against the door of a business they were working at on the 9500 block of Chapman Avenue at about 10 p.m. Wednesday, Garden Grove Police Lt. Mario Martinez said. When officers arrived, they spotted a man matching the caller’s description.

Police detained him, Martinez said. At some point, while officers were speaking to the man, he started banging his head against the ground.

“The officers restrained him for his own safety and tried to calm him down,” Martinez said. “During the course of that, they handcuffed him, then called paramedics.”

The man was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, police said. His identity was not immediately released.

“There was no use of force” by police during the encounter, Martinez said. He added that preliminary reports do not indicate wrongdoing on the part of the officers involved.

On September 3, 2021, Forensic Pathologist Dr. Aruna Singhania of Orange County Coroner's Office conducted an autopsy on the body of Tuaila. Dr. Singhania observed multiple abrasions of various ages on the face, and the upper and lower extremities.

The cardiovascular system was mostly unremarkable. The respiratory system was also mostly unremarkable. None of the findings revealed any sign of trauma. The toxicology report revealed the presence of several drugs in Tuaila’s system. Dr. Singhania found the cause of death to be the combined effects of amphetamine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and alprazolam.

Based on all the evidence provided to and reviewed by the OCDA, and pursuant to applicable legal principles, it is our conclusion that there is no evidence to support a finding that any GGPD personnel or any individual under the supervision of the GGPD directly committed any act or failed to perform a legal duty causing the death of Tuaila. The evidence shows that Tuaila died as a result of the combined effects of amphetamine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and alprazolam.

Accordingly, the OCDA is closing its inquiry into this incident.