Archibald v. County of San Bernardino

Central District

U. S. District Judge Andre Birotte Jr.

Plaintiffs' Lawyers: Dale K. Galipo, Hang D. Le, Law Office of Dale K. Galipo; James S. Terrell, Law Offices of James S. Terrell; Sharon J. Brunner, Law Office of Sharon J. Brunner

Defense Lawyers: Vincent C. Ewing, Roger A. Colvin, Alvarez-Glasman & Colvin

In one of the largest awards involving a police shooting in the country, a team of plaintiffs' attorneys led by Dale K. Galipo won a $33.5 million verdict for the family of a man shot and killed by a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy.

The jury found that Deputy Kyle Woods used excessive force during a 2015 incident at a Barstow motel and negligently caused the death of Nathanael H. Pickett Jr. The jury unanimously awarded Pickett's parents $15.5 million in compensatory damages and $18 million in punitive damages.

Galipo said the verdict indicates juries are taking officer-involved shootings seriously and believes it will set the stage for future awards and settlements.

"I would think ... you're going to start to see larger verdicts in these cases because of the change in public sentiment about police officer shootings," he said.

"It does send a message, hopefully, to cities, counties and municipalities that jurors are not going to be afraid to go into the double-digit millions," added plaintiffs' attorney Sharon J. Brunner.

Following settlement negotiations, the judgment was amended to award Pickett's mother, Dominic Archibald, $10 million and Pickett's father $5.5 million. Archibald v. County of San Bernardino, 16-CV01128 (C.D. Cal., filed May 31, 2016).

The turning point in the case was when the plaintiffs' attorneys were able to show the deputy's testimony conflicted with surveillance video, according to plaintiffs' attorney James S. Terrell.

Defense attorneys claimed Pickett had punched the deputy in the face 10 to 20 times and the deputy feared he was losing consciousness, justifying the use of deadly force, according to court documents.

A photo taken an hour after the incident did not show marks on the deputy's face, and a video expert for the defense testified that in the footage, Pickett is not seen punching the officer, Terrell said.

"The jury was clearly able to see while watching the video that the testimony of the deputy was inconsistent and dishonest," he said.

Defense attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.

Archibald said that while the verdict did not bring her full closure, it did provide a level of vindication.

"What it did for me was to vindicate my son and to say point by point that he was not responsible or culpable in any way for his own death, that there was a very egregious and heinous act from this deputy," she said.

Archibald is pushing for a criminal prosecution of Woods but has been unsuccessful, she said.

"Are we pushing it? Yes. Is it slow? Yes," she said. "Are we giving up? Never."

-- Erin Lee