Excessive Force

Plaintiff was a mentally ill man whose mother called the police during a psychotic episode. Officers knew of his condition, that he may have a knife, and possibly suicidal. Several minutes passed and the man calmed down, sitting in a chair in the middle of a cul-de-sac. Upon arrival, officers immediately approached him and he stood up, with hands (and knife) down by his side completely still. The officer fired 4 rounds striking him once in the abdomen. P survived. Non-shooting officer lied in sworn statement and shooting officer echoed lie to initial backups.

Plaintiff, an African American 50 year-old, was sitting in his vehicle when approached by police about an open alcohol container in a parking lot. Plaintiff denied knowing anything about it and refused to allow a search of his vehicle. Plaintiff was placed in a chokehold and arrested. Toxicology revealed no alcohol in his system. Defendants City of San Leandro and Officer Michael Olivera settled prior to filing any motions.

No lasting physical injuries. High functioning autistic young woman in pretrial detention. Client was tiny (110 lbs) but had boisterous and unfiltered personality that repeatedly triggered jailors. Tort claim alleged multiple deployments of restraint chair as punishment and for double the manufacturer’s recommended time limit. One hair hold attack where jailer slammed her to concrete floor while cuffed behind back. Just bruises and small tooth chip. Alleged jail has practice of “assembling a team” to place detainees in the chair. This team attack triggers panic in high functioning autism.