Mendocino Sheriff Releases Bodycam Footage, Name Of Suspect Who Died During Arrest

MENDOCINO COUNTY — A Willits man who died last month after Mendocino County Sheriff's Office personnel used pepper spray and a Taser stun gun on him was identified Tuesday as Nicholas Bakewell.

In addition to identifying Bakewell, the Sheriff's Office released body camera footage, the emergency dispatch call and the names of the deputy and sergeant involved in his June 5 death.

The events leading up to his interaction with law enforcement began after Bakewell, 36, allegedly attacked a driver who had picked him up hitchhiking, according to sheriff's officials.

The driver was taken to a hospital for treatment but his condition wasn't released.
Deputy Jesus Lopez was initially sent to the area of the 2000 block of Hearst Willits Road to investigate the alleged assault at about 7 p.m. Lopez found Bakewell walking in the middle of the road, pulled over and got out of his patrol car with his bodycam activated.
Footage shows a clearly agitated Bakewell walked toward Lopez and put up his fists as if to fight the deputy while yelling expletives as Lopez backed away.

Bakewell ignored Lopez's orders to get on the ground and started to run, at which point Lopez said, "Stop, you're gonna get Tased."

Bakewell then stopped and put his hands on his knees after being cut off by sheriff's Sgt. Sam Logan, who had just arrived at the scene and was walking toward him from the other direction.

Logan could be heard on footage captured by his own bodycam asking Bakewell "What's going on" and telling him "You're safe, man."

Suddenly, Bakewell started to run again, this time in Logan's direction and appeared to be pepper sprayed by Lopez.

Bakewell then fell into some roadside brush, was sprayed again, and then came crawling back toward the road on his stomach.Lopez then tried to handcuff Bakewell, who resisted and appeared to throw a punch at the deputy, after which Logan deployed his Taser on Bakewell.
Bakewell continued to refuse orders and soon Willits Police Department Officers arrived to help subdue him and get him into handcuffs. Shortly thereafter, Bakewell appeared to fall unconscious.

"I got no pulse," one of the law enforcement officers can be heard saying as Bakewell is being uncuffed and given the opioid overdose medication Narcan.

He was also given CPR by law enforcement and EMT personnel but was declared dead at the scene at 7:42 p.m., sheriff's officials said.

Bakewell's death is still being investigated by the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office.

Logan and Lopez were also the subject of an internal Sheriff's Office use of force review and cleared to return to work after spending about three weeks on paid administrative leave, sheriff's spokesperson Capt. Quincy Cromer said.

Bakewell's official cause of death is still pending, with a toxicology report expected to be complete in the next few weeks, Cromer said.


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