Oakland police have released body camera and surveillance footage capturing the chaotic events leading to the death of former NFL running back Doug Martin, who went unconscious after breaking into a neighbor’s home during what his family described as a mental health crisis.
The videos, made public Friday, show the 36-year-old Martin acting erratically before officers took him into custody on Oct. 18. He was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after.
According to the footage, Martin is seen breaking through a fence and entering a backyard in Oakland’s Dimond District. He then shatters a window to gain access to the home, triggering an alarm. The incident followed a 911 call from the homeowner reporting a break-in — the second such occurrence at the property — and a separate call from Martin’s mother alerting authorities to his mental health emergency. She told dispatchers he hadn’t slept in three days despite taking sleeping pills and had left his house on foot while feeling overwhelmed and disoriented.
Body camera video depicts officers arriving at the scene, identifying themselves and ordering the intruder to come out. Receiving no response, they enter through the broken window and locate Martin in a bathroom. After he emerges, a brief struggle ensues, with officers restraining him on the ground and urging him to calm down. Martin is handcuffed, and an officer draws but does not deploy a Taser. While awaiting paramedics, officers check his pulse and breathing.
Paramedics from a private company arrive but struggle to maneuver a gurney inside the home. Martin is carried outside, where responders determine he has stopped breathing. Handcuffs are removed to perform CPR, and he is transported to a hospital, where he is declared dead.
The Oakland Police Department said in a statement that the release of the 911 calls, body cam footage and surveillance video aims to provide transparency. The department noted that officers requested paramedics upon arrival and that the incident is under investigation by multiple entities, including the Alameda County coroner’s office, the department’s homicide and internal affairs divisions, the district attorney’s office and the Oakland Community Police Review Agency. Involved officers have been placed on administrative leave, per policy.
Martin’s family, through his former agency Athletes First, said his parents had sought medical assistance from authorities before the break-in. They described the episode as stemming from a mental health crisis, noting Martin had leaped from a second-story window at a rehab center months earlier.
Martin, nicknamed “Muscle Hamster” during his playing days, spent seven seasons in the NFL, primarily with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he rushed for 5,356 yards and 30 touchdowns. He also played one season with the Oakland Raiders in 2018.
The release comes amid growing scrutiny of police responses to mental health calls, though authorities have not released a cause of death pending the investigations.
