EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Dozens honored Xavier Hernandez’s life this past weekend, while his family also advocated for mental health.
Herndaze’s family held a vigil to celebrate his life this past Saturday, Sept. 27, at Eastwood Park, 3110 Parkwood St.
During the vigil, Hernandez’s family urged the community to stay close to their loved ones who are going through a mental health crisis.
“We want people to know they’re not alone. My son was going through a crisis, and unfortunately, you know, he just didn’t have the individuals that were properly trained.”
Mother of Herndez, Angelica Lujan
Hernandez’s battle with mental health reached a breaking point on July 13, as he was seen standing on I-10 East at Yarbrough, which eventually led to a confrontation with El Paso Police.
As KTSM previously reported, Hernandez was stunned with a stun gun multiple times by an El Paso Police officer.
The stun gun was ineffective, police said at the time, and another officer and a witness helped to subdue Hernandez, who became unresponsive.
CPR was performed, and Hernandez was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
His cause of death, which was ruled as a homicide, was asphyxia due to chest compression while being subdued and restrained by law enforcement. A contributing factor was cocaine toxicity, according to the autopsy report obtained by KTSM.
The autopsy also revealed multiple abrasions, contusions, and puncture marks on his body.
“That has filled me to not stay quiet, to do something. There are so many things that we can do differently that we haven’t done.”
Mother of Hernandez, Angelica Lujan
Hernandez’s family also started a petition, calling on El Paso Police to improve their training on crisis response calls and increase resources for their crisis intervention team.
Three separate ongoing investigations are looking into the incident by the El Paso Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit, the Texas Rangers, and the El Paso Police Department’s Administrative Unit.
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