# Chilling moment police officer smiles as he kneels over body of woman, 66, who never regained consciousness and later died

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/chilling-moment-police-officer-smiles-as-he-kneels-over-body-of-woman-66-who-never-regained-consciousness-and-later-died/
- Published: 2026-10-28T19:10:30+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-28T19:39:19+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16242833/nyota-koya-death-sacramento-police-lawsuit-bodycam.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Nyota Koya died a week after an arrest in Sacramento.
- Her daughter’s lawsuit alleges excessive force and wrongful death.
- A medical examiner ruled the death was natural.

## Summary

Police bodycam footage has prompted a civil lawsuit over the treatment of Nyota Koya, a 66-year-old woman who was arrested in a Sacramento golf-course car park and died in hospital a week later. Her daughter alleges that officer Matthew Sterling used excessive force; the case raises questions about the officers’ handling of Koya, who was unwell and struggling to get out of her car.

Koya was approached on 17 November 2024 after a trespassing report, and Sterling initially offered to arrange shelter and a tow for her car. More than two hours later, footage shows him pulling her from the car, pushing her face down and handcuffing her; she lost consciousness in the police car, and paramedics later found her without a pulse. Her daughter’s lawsuit names the city, police department, Sterling and police chief Katherine Lester, and seeks damages across 17 claims. A medical examiner attributed Koya’s death to pulmonary thromboembolism and ruled it natural; Sterling remains with the department.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.