New evidence sheds light on deadly traffic stop

Last Updated Dec 17, 2014 8:10 AM EST

In May, a routine traffic stop turned deadly for a Michigan retiree, but cell phone video seemed to contradict police accounts of the event.

As in other cases involving allegations of excessive force by police, a grand jury called to look into Charles Eimers' death chose not to indict the officers. Now, a new video is raising questions about what that grand jury didn't see, CBS News' Elaine Quijano reports.

On Thanksgiving morning last year, Eimers drove into Key West, Florida, planning a dream retirement, but not long after arriving he was pulled over by police for illegally changing lanes.

For reasons nobody knows, Eimers fled, running red lights as he drove through town. Officers caught up with him on a beach.

Police told emergency medical services that Eimers left his vehicle, ran and collapsed on the beach. He went into a coma and his family took him off life support a week later.

But in May, CBS obtained the cell phone video. In it, Eimers didn't collapse; he surrendered and is surrounded by police. His son, Treavor, believed the family was lied to.

"I believe my father was asphyxiated on the beach in Key West by the officers involved that day," Treavor said.

The medical examiner said the cause of death was lack of oxygen to the brain, but that it was due to Eimers' pre-existing heart condition and the struggle with police. The death was ruled an accident.

In the autopsy, the medical examiner also considered the results of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) investigation into the incident, which determined Eimers' face was not forced into the sand and that initial photographs showed only a light dusting of sand on his face.

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New evidence sheds light on deadly traffic stop