Wrongful Death by Police: Should You Take a Settlement?

Read the blog from Frank Penney Injury Lawyers in Roseville, CA below. 

For at least the last few years, anyone tuned into national news is aware of what seems a wave of police brutality and cases of wrongful death by police shooting working through the newspapers and courts. The Los Angeles Police Department reported that 2017 was a record year for settlement payments, at nearly $81 million (not all of which was paid to police wrongful death settlements).

And when many of the cases in the news against law enforcement are alleging a symptom of some systemic issue, such as racism, or police targeting of specific groups of the public, it’s becoming more socially important to report the miscarriage of justice. It’s happening often enough that police homicides and shootings are not just a “one bad egg” problem or an accident that just seems to happen a lot…in one area. In one police department.

Therefore, in winning a case that tragically reveals some organizational malfunction, many victims consider admission of guilt the desired outcome. Most government entities and corporations do all they can to avoid that, including offering a generous settlement.

But settlements may not entirely satisfy a client’s desire to punish offenders, to enact change to some systemic problem, or even to receive an acknowledgment of guilt from the guilty party, along with an apology. If you know someone who has died at the hands of law enforcement, it is important to talk to an experienced attorney to see if there is a wrongful death case, and what your options are – settlement or taking it to court.

A SAN FRANCISCO POLICE SHOOTING CASE

In the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, in 2014, police responded to a report of a “man with a gun.” As four police officers approached 28-year-old Alejandro “Alex” Nieto in a city park, he is reported to have turned to face the officers with a taser stun gun in his hand. All the officers fired on Mr. Nieto striking him 59 times. The jury sided with the police department. It was reported Mr. Nieto had some gang affiliations.

Despite apparent bias as that, there are still other cases where there is a preponderance of evidence against the state or police, and at the 11th hour, the defendants will settle for some of the headline dollar amounts. But significantly, there is often some “fine print” attached. Unless forced to, the state nearly always refuses to admit guilt, basically considering a settlement a hush fund compensation for losses and damages.

A NORTHERN CALIFORNIA WRONGFUL DEATH CASE

A jury awarded for the family of a 42-year-old homeless man, Darren Borges, who died while in police custody, of a methamphetamine overdose. He was thought to be intoxicated and placed in a solitary “drunk tank” cell. A nurse did look in on him at some point through a cell window and saw “no reason for alarm,” but about an hour later he was discovered to be unresponsive and was later pronounced dead.

The jury did agree with the Borges family, who felt that the officers involved did not act with any malice, but were instead insufficiently trained to be aware that Darren was overdosing. The family stated his death was likely “unpreventable” after ingesting a lethal dose of drugs, but all the same contend that by taking Mr. Borges into custody, the police department became responsible for his safety, and so the system was negligent to not respond to his duress and direct him to medical services.

The verdict awarded the Borges family $2.5 million in damages, but after 30 months, the decision is only a first step, with a likely “flurry of post-trial motions” to follow. So this isn’t over for the family. The state had not otherwise offered a settlement to the family in this case.

Hope for Families of Wrongful Death by Police Officer