BAKERSFIELD,CA - As David Silva's family prepares to bury their loved one, there are still many unanswered questions about his death while in-custody at Kern Medical Center last week.
"He had some kind of a problem with the wife, left the house, talked to his mom and said he was going for help at the hospital," said Ralph Silva, David Silva's uncle.
David Silva's uncle said no one knows what happened next. 17 News obtained security video from a home, that appears to show a violent encounter between deputies and Silva, near the hospital.
Deputies said Silva was intoxicated and confrontational. "Maybe he's trying to defend himself from someone trying to grab him. It doesn't call for a death," said Silva.
It appears deputies use batons to strike Silva who is on the ground. He later died in-custody at Kern Medical Center.
Silva's uncle described what he saw after seeing his nephew's body at the coroner's office. "Bruised up face, chin, ear, busted lip, broken nose, black eye, all marks all over his face," he explained.
Attorney David Cohn, who's representing Silva's family, has six months to file a civil lawsuit in Fresno federal court against the Kern County Sheriff's Department. Cohn said the claim is contingent on the autopsy, witness interviews and cell phone videos seized by deputies as evidence.
The Sheriff's Department won't release the videos because the incident is under investigation. "We're not going to jump to conclusions because of a videotape until we complete the investigation," said Sheriff Donny Youngblood.
"We're told to be patient. We're told to be respectful, but at no time were they respectful to my brother," noted Chris Silva. "So me, to be patient, is impossible. I need the truth told."
An autopsy was performed on Silva Friday, but the coroner said his cause of death was pending toxicology results. Youngblood said that could take three to four months and the investigation won't be complete until then.