The 2024 death of an Alabama man whose neck was kneeled upon by a police officer has been ruled a homicide, according to an autopsy report. Phillip Reeder, 53, died of restraint during an altercation and hypertensive heart disease associated with cocaine use, the Jefferson County Coroner Medical Examiner's Office report said.

Body camera footage reviewed by Reeder's family but not publicly released shows him saying, "I can't breathe" three times, his wife said.

Phillip Reeder’s death in Irondale ruled a homicide after an officer kneeled on his neck during arrest. Family disputes police version