The name Bryan Bostic and calls for police accountability have become a familiar sound on the streets of Inglewood.
On March 10, Bostic died in the custody of the Inglewood Police Department (IPD) after he was pulled over by officers at the corner of Hillcrest Boulevard and Nutwood Street. Bystander video, the only video available of Bostic being pulled over, taken that night shows two officers on top of Bostic while he lay face down, unarmed. In the video, Bostic called for help as he desperately moved his feet up and down in a panicked manner. Emergency medical personnel were called to the scene and, according to the city and the medical examiner, Bostic was medically cleared before officers transported him to an IPD station. Police later found him unresponsive in the patrol vehicle. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, and he was later pronounced dead.
Bostic’s death and the lack of transparency around the incident have since sparked protests and confrontations at City Hall between officials, Bostic’s family, and community members, all demanding accountability. The family has also pursued legal actions against the city.
Last Sunday, Sept. 13, Bostic’s family and community members protested at the intersection where Bostic was pulled over, carrying signs, marching through the nearby neighborhood streets, and demanding answers from city officials responsible for policing the community. Supporters marched from the intersection to City Hall, then to the IPD station next to it.
Their message to the city is simple: Justice for Bryan Bostic.
The family’s fight for justice has transformed multiple locations that the community associates with Bostic’s death, such as the intersection where he was pulled over and the police station, into areas of protest and remembrance.
For Bostic’s loved ones, like his mother Denise Wells and his aunt Marie Darden, the protest was not simply about a single encounter with police; they shared with The Southlander that it is about what they say is a broader problem of police accountability and the difficulty families face when trying to get answers after a family member dies in custody.
The family subsequently filed a legal claim against the city, a required step before filing a lawsuit.
A questionable death
The city of Inglewood has not released the names of the officers who pulled him over or arrested him. The family has been relentlessly asking for that information.
Bostic was eventually taken into custody, but no video of that appears to be available anywhere. IPD does not publish critical incident videos on their YouTube page.
For weeks, however, details surrounding the death remained unclear.
The lack of information intensified the family’s anger and their call for accountability.
“They are trying to cover up his murder. They are not giving us any information about the names of the officers. They are not giving us the names of the EMTs that were here. That said, [the EMTs] cleared him. So we are out here seeking answers, transparency, and accountability,” said Bryan’s aunt, Marie Darden.
In response to a public records request by The Southlander, IPD eventually released the names of all officers involved with Bostic on March 10. A total of fifteen officers are named, but the department refused to state which officers were on top of Bostic and which pulled him over, despite The Southlander’s request for that information.
At Sunday’s protest, each speaker demanded to know what happened between the traffic stop and Bostic’s death, which is the unaccounted-for time with few answers. The video recorded by a bystander does not capture everything that happened before Bostic was pinned to the ground or after being arrested.
The family’s attorney, Denisse Gastélum, has argued in press conferences that excessive force was used. She also questioned why Bostic was taken to the police station rather than to a hospital.
The medical examiner’s finding
On May 28, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner determined that Bostic’s cause of death was the effects of methamphetamine. The report classified the death as an accident. The report also indicates that “officers observed drug paraphernalia in Mr. Bostic’s car, and a physical altercation occurred between Mr. Bostic and the officers trying to take him into custody.”
After the cops dogpiled him, Bostic was medically cleared, meaning a qualified medical professional examined him and formally determined that he was stable and safe enough to proceed with any activity. Cops then began transporting him to the police station.
The medical examiner’s “accident” finding, however, has not ended the family’s campaign for answers and accountability.
For the family and the community who continue to apply pressure to Inglewood Mayor James Thurman Butts, concerns extend beyond the formal cause and manner of death. They have questioned the conduct of the officers, such as leaning on someone, beating, and dogpiling someone during a traffic stop.
“[IPD] confiscated video from all the businesses around. Now [IPD is] saying that the video is poor quality. But now we cannot see the video,” added Darden. IPD officers do not wear body-worn cameras, and this is another reason the community is protesting, saying they need them to further hold officers accountable. On April 28, Inglewood City Council voted ‘yes’ on a $6.3 million Axon surveillance contract, which includes officers beginning to wear new body cameras as early as December 2026.
Activists have also raised questions about Inglewood’s police oversight commission. The commission has not met for nearly nine years, according to an investigation published in May by The LA Local. The website is gone, and public roster information for the police oversight commission is not maintained, raising concerns about local accountability and adherence to city codes.
The LA Local’s investigation and the community’s concerns have given Bostic’s case a broader political dimension. The question is no longer only what happened to Bostic, but whether Inglewood residents have meaningful mechanisms to hold police accountable when something goes wrong. The city has no working independent police oversight commission, even as the department receives increased funding and access to increasingly sophisticated surveillance technology. For residents seeking answers about Bostic’s case, the investigation may be only the beginning of a larger examination of police accountability in Inglewood.
The family refuses to be silent
The Bostic family continues to organize despite the legal and political battles before them, including efforts to seek answers from the city. These battles include two aunts, a friend, and Black Lives Matter organizer who were once blocked from entering an Inglewood City Hall council meeting after being served with a 120-day ban. This move by the city resulted in pushback and legal pressure from groups like the First Amendment Coalition, pointing to free speech violations. As a result, the city quickly rescinded the ban just two days later, on June 18.
Their protest has drawn support from local activists, clergy, people who knew Bostic personally, and people who have lost loved ones to police brutality. Drivers passing by during Sunday’s march honked in support.
“I am staying in the background for a lot of this. I appreciate all the work that you guys have been putting in. I truly do. I love my family because they be in the streets like I would since I can’t. But when I can, you are going to get sick looking at me,” said Denise Wells, Bostic’s mother. This is the first time his mother has publicly spoken about the death of her son.
In front of City Hall, mothers who have lost their kids to police brutality took a moment to speak about their fight for justice and answers from city officials.
“We have to be our kids’ voice so that [the police] don’t get away,” said Tyesha Moody, the mother of Jaque Rabon, who was killed by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department on January 22, 2026, and who attended the march to support the Bostic family. In addition, Eleona Flores, the mother of Alex Flores, who was killed by the Los Angeles Police Department on November 19, 2019, also attended the march to show love and support for Bostic’s family.
Protesters across the city have held signs bearing Bostic’s name and demanding justice. For them, the streets have become a courtroom of public opinion, used outside the criminal legal system. The community’s protests challenge the idea that Bostic’s death in police custody will become another statistic. The family says it will continue fighting for accountability.
Reporter’s View: I am from Inglewood. It is the city that shaped me and made me who I am today. At the same time, it is a city I no longer recognize as I did growing up in the 1990s, as rapid development and gentrification continue to transform the community.
Now, with the city moving forward with a $6.3 million Axon surveillance contract, the Inglewood Police Department is gaining access to some of the most advanced surveillance technology available. Yet, as millions of dollars continue to flow into policing, residents are still demanding greater transparency and accountability from the police department.
In addition, Inglewood is undergoing a massive transformation, with billions of dollars being invested in developments such as hotels, apartments, stadiums, and entertainment venues, as well as major projects reshaping the city. But development cannot come at the expense of accountability. If officers are not held accountable for what happened to Bryan Bostic, it raises a larger question about what residents can expect when police use their power in the future. For a city changing as rapidly as Inglewood, transparency and accountability should be at the center of that transformation, not an afterthought.
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