The incident occurred in 2017 ... Joseph Perez had suffered a mental breakdown and police were called to help. As cops tried restraining the 41-year-old, you hear him scream, "I can't breathe," and "Let me redeem myself."

The officers tell him to calm down and breathe, but Perez is clearly fighting for air and it becomes a vicious cycle -- the longer his airway is restricted, the more agitated he becomes and the officers use his resistance to justify more compression.

Paramedics arrived and told a cop to sit on the backboard they brought to carry Perez into the ambulance. The backboard was placed on Perez's back as his head was face down on the ground.

Perez died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.

Perez's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the officers, the City and County of Fresno and the ambulance company.

Neil Gehlawat, the lawyer for the Perez family, says, "Compression asphyxia during restraining is all too common, and we hope to expose this pervasive tactic used by law enforcement officers across the country."