A federal court jury returned a $13.5 million verdict against the city of Los Angeles in a lawsuit over the death of a man after two police officers used their bodyweight on his back to restrain him, the plaintiff`s attorneys said.
Jacobo Juarez Cedillo, 50, died at a hospital five days after the April 2019 encounter with officers who found him sitting in a gas station driveway, stood him up and ultimately took him to the ground. The suit was filed by his daughter, Nicole Juarez Zelaya.
Friday’s verdict included a finding that the city “failed to train its police officers with respect to the risks of positional and restraint asphyxia,” her lawyers said in a statement. Attorney Dale K. Galipo said he hoped such verdicts will cause police to take notice.
The Los Angeles City Attorney`s Office had no comment on the verdict, said spokesperson Ivor Pine.
A medical examiner determined the death was due to cardiopulmonary arrest, along with a loss of blood flow to the brain and the effects of methamphetamine, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2020.
The examiner wrote, in part, that a “component of asphyxia due to possible compression of the body may be contributory to the cardiopulmonary arrest, however there are no findings at autopsy that establish asphyxia.”
A 2021 California law bars police from using certain face-down holds that create risk of positional asphyxia.
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