By Emilie St. John
Contributing Writer
INGLEWOOD – Mayor James T. Butts Jr. is denying that the city’s police officers did anything wrong after a March 10 traffic stop ended in a man’s death.
Mayor Butts went on NBC 4 Los Angeles March 22 to offer condolences to the family of Bryan Bostic, who died in police custody. Bostic is the grandson of Evelyn Wells, the first black mayor of Lynwood.
That was the first time the city addressed Bostic’s death.
The family held a peaceful protest March 22, in the 400 block of East Hillcrest Boulevard, the scene of the traffic stop.
“We don’t know what happened and we are so heartbroken,” said Talia Castillo, Bostic’s cousin. “It’s really unimaginable.”
According to the family, Bostic was on his way to visit his girlfriend at a local hospital when he was pulled over by Inglewood police officers around 9:30 p.m. March 10. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office, he was pronounced dead less than a mile away at the Inglewood police station at 10:15 p.m.
Mayor Butts described what happened from the city’s point of biew
“After [police officers] made contact with Mr. Bostic they made an observation in what they believed of an attempt to hide something,” Butts said. He did not provide details of what they thought was being hidden.
He said a struggle then ensued and additional officers were called and Bostic was placed under arrest.
“At that time, he was sweating profusely and he had a contusion on his cheek and they called paramedics to examine him,” Butts continued. “Paramedics cleared him to be taken to the station and booked.”
According to Bostic’s family, the police department told them by the time they arrived at the police station he was unresponsive.
“They noticed he wasn’t breathing and started CPR and paramedics arrived and pronounced him dead,” Butts said.
That contradicts a statement provided to a reporter by the medical examiner’s office March 11.
“Death was pronounced at 22:15 hours by the Inglewood Police Department,” the office’s public information officer wrote.
Butts indicated an internal investigation is underway.
According to Bostic’s aunt, Butts “reassured” her that Bostic was alive when he arrived at the police station Inglewood does not provide body cameras for its officers to use, something that the family and community activists have mentioned since Bostic’s death
“The cameras wouldn’t change the outcome of Bostic’s death,” Butts said. He said answers would come after the autopsy and an investigation by the district attorney’s office.
Inglewood resident Marvin McCoy and community activist Najee Ali are both calling for the California attorney general to investigate Bostic’s death.
“Inglewood officers came to a local business and raided it [looking for video footage] and obviously there is something going wrong here in Inglewood,” Ali said. “I say it’s a police cover up to the highest degree … and I emailed California Attorney General Rob Bonta asking for an independent investigation.”
McCoy also drafted an email to the civil rights division of Bonta’s office requesting an investigation.
“The seriousness of this incident is compounded by recent court rulings involving the Inglewood Police Department in litigation brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California,” McCoy wrote. “In November 2025, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge granted summary judgment in favor of the ACLU, finding that the department had engaged in ‘systematic violations’ of the California Public Records Act and routinely failed to provide requested records related to police misconduct and use-of-force incidents.
“I respectfully urge your office to exercise its authority to investigate this matter thoroughly, including review of all available evidence such as body-worn camera footage, witness testimony, medical records and departmental policies and practices,” McCoy added.
“The family and friends of Bryan Bostic deserve assurance that incidents involving loss of life in police custody are handled with the highest level of scrutiny, independence, and integrity — especially in light of recent judicial findings regarding the department involved.”
The department has not publicly identified the officers involved in the incident.
Emilie St. John is a freelance journalist covering the areas of Carson, Compton, Inglewood and Willowbrook. Send tips to her at emiliesaintjohn@gmail.com.
