Bodycam Captures Officer Smiling Over Unconscious 66-Year-Old Woman Who Later Died

Grinning. That’s the word that sticks. Photos from a bodycam show California officer Matthew Sterling smiling broadly as he knelt over an unconscious woman on the asphalt. The victim was Nyota Koya, 66. She lay passed out in the road before being rushed to Mercy San Juan Medical Center. She died a week later.

The incident unfolded on November 17, 2024. Koya sat stranded in her car at the Haggin Oaks Golf Course parking lot in Sacramento. Sterling responded to a trespassing report. Another officer was present initially but left the scene. Sterling offered to tow Koya’s vehicle and take her to a shelter. She refused.

Two hours passed. Koya remained in the parking lot. Sterling grew impatient. "Can we hurry up?" he asked, according to footage. Koya explained her physical state. "I’m 66, baby. I’ve got to get this together. I can’t even hardly put on my shoes," she said. Her ankles were swollen. Her car was broken. Her phone was dead. She called his behavior "jacked."

Sterling issued an ultimatum. He told her that if she stayed in the car for five more minutes, they would go to jail at 12:27. Koya shouted back. "This is bulls**t," she exclaimed. "This right here is straight bulls**t, and I'm sick of it. I've been through this s**t so god damn long, I'm tired of it."

The situation escalated quickly. Koya shut her car door. Sterling opened it and grabbed her. She screamed, "You ain't no police! You b**ch a** motherf***er! Hell no!" as he pulled her onto the concrete. "Let me f**king go! Let me go!" she cried.

Sterling pushed Koya face down into the road. He placed his knee on her back. Then he handcuffed her. Moments later, she was moved to the cop car. Inside, she lost consciousness. The second officer returned to the scene. Paramedics arrived and found no pulse.

Koya was transported to Mercy San Juan Medical Center. A medical examiner ruled her death natural. The cause was complications of pulmonary thromboembolism. A blood clot traveled from her leg to her heart.

Her daughter, Nathifa Wright, filed a civil lawsuit. She named the city of Sacramento, the Sacramento Police Department, Sterling, and police chief Katherine Lester as defendants. The suit seeks damages for 17 claims. These include excessive force and wrongful death.

Wright told The Sacramento Bee that her mother was "her world." She learned the next day that Koya had a 0.01 percent chance of survival. The lawsuit includes two screenshots from the bodycam. They show Sterling with a wide smile while kneeling over the unconscious Koya.

Sterling still works for the Sacramento Police Department. The Daily Mail reached out to legal counsels for Koya's estate, the police department, the city, and Sterling. No comment has been received.