Seeking accountability for Doug Martin’s death, his parents allege excessive force and medical negligence after a mental health crisis turned fatal during a police encounter in Oakland.
The parents of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers' star running back Doug Martin want answers about what led to their son's tragic death on October 18, 2025.
Martin was only 36 years old.
A story by Hannah Fingerhut of the Associated Press reports that his parents, Leslie and Douglas Martin, filed a lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday, alleging that their son died from a combination of excessive force and delayed medical care.
The wrongful death suit names the city of Oakland, California, several police officers and an ambulance company as defendants.
Martin's parents say their son was experiencing a mental health crisis in October when Oakland police officers held him “face down while one or more officers pressed on his back.” The lawsuit alleges this restraint was a “substantial factor” in causing his death.
“The family is very much interested in finding out what happened to their son,” said attorney John Burris. “Unfortunately, the litigation is a mechanism to best get that done.”
At the time of Martin's death, police said he was involved in a break-in and said efforts to restrain him caused a "brief struggle," which ended with Martin becoming unresponsive. No other details were given by the police department.
Details Of The Night Of Martin's Death
The AP report gives several details of events that occurred the night of Martin's death.
"Leslie Martin had called 911 because she was worried about her son, Burris said in an interview. He had been acting strangely, and she thought that he needed some medical attention, he said.
"Burris said Doug Martin took off after she called. Police officers responding to Leslie Martin’s call and separate reports of a break-in found Doug Martin hiding in a neighbor’s home.
"Oakland police released several minutes of officers’ body camera footage and 911 calls in March. In the video, officers called Martin by name.
"The officers and Martin struggle briefly, and then he is physically restrained face down. There are several minutes not shown in the released video.
"The complaint alleges that Martin was later turned onto his side and was unresponsive, and says officers initially thought he was 'sleeping or pretending to be.' They only requested medical assistance after he remained unresponsive, the lawsuit says."
The lawsuit also claims that Falck USA, Inc. and its subsidiary, Falck Northern California Corp., took more than 15 minutes to respond to the call. The medics are also accused of failing to provide prompt medical assistance once they arrived.
According to the AP, "the Alameda County Coroner’s Office said an autopsy report is awaiting test results after extra testing was requested by Martin’s family. Burris said he does not know what additional testing is holding up the report.
"Burris said he had a second autopsy conducted, and the pathologist determined tentatively that the cause of death was restraint asphyxiation."
Awaiting CTE Test Results
Martin's brain was immediately sent to Boston, MA, to be examined for signs of CTE. The family is still waiting on the results of the testing.
“They’re concerned enough about it that they immediately sent the brain to Boston for examination,” Burris said, adding that the degenerative brain disease might account for his behavior, but was not a cause of death. Research is done at the Boston University CTE Center.
Final Thoughts
What happened to Doug Martin is an unspeakable tragedy. Hopefully, the lawsuit filed by his parents can shed some more light onto what exactly happened that night.
Martin's family deserves to know exactly what caused his death, and whether more should have, and could have, been done to prevent it.
Join our ROUNDTABLE community! It's free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members. Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!
