Karthik Kandaswamy from his LinkedIn account.
By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff
Sheriff-Coroner David O. Livingston announces that a Coroner’s Jury has reached a finding in the November 4, 2018 death of 26-year-old Karthik Kandaswamy of San Ramon. The finding of the jury is that the death is an accident.
The Coroner’s Jury reached the verdict after hearing the testimony of witnesses called by the hearing officer, Matthew Guichard.
Kandaswamy was arrested by San Ramon Police for battery and resisting arrest on Saturday, Nov. 3. He ingested drugs after being booked into the jail and following efforts by sheriff’s deputies and jail medical personnel, was unresponsive and died early in the morning of Nov. 4
According to his LinkedIn account, he was a 2012 graduate of Dougherty Valley High School and earned a degree in computer science and engineering in 2015 from Santa Clara University.
A Coroner’s Inquest, which Sheriff-Coroner Livingston convenes in all fatal incidents involving police officers, is a public hearing, during which a jury rules on the manner of a person’s death. Jury members can choose from the following four options when making their finding: accident, suicide, natural causes or at the hands of another person, other than by accident.
Allen Payton contributed to this report.
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