Facts

Guillermo Ramirez, Teresa Ramirez, and R.R., a minor, by and through his guardian ad litem Antonio Anguiano Cervantez, sued Oxnard Police Dept., City of Oxnard, Chief Jeri Williams, and Officers Steven Ramirez, Michael Bocanegra, Roslynn Wilfert, Pedro Rodriguez, Aaron Zavala, Kyle Brantner, and Matthew Ross, following the death of Robert Ramirez while in police custody.

Plaintiffs are decedent's parents and his minor child.

The Oxnard Police Department and Chief Jeri Williams were granted summary judgment prior to trial. The City of Oxnard remained as a named defendant only on a theory of vicarious liability with regards to plaintiffs' state law claims for battery and negligence.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
On June 23, 2012, Robert Ramirez, 26, swallowed an "eight ball" or 3.5 grams of methamphetamine. He allegedly swallowed the baggie because he was on parole and did not want to be caught in possession of the drug by authorities and be sent back to jail. The baggie, at some point, opened up and started leaking into his system. Fearing that he may be overdosing, he drove to a friend's house and the paramedics were called. Oxnard Police officers arrived first and tried to restrain decedent.

Plaintiffs claimed decedent was beaten with excessive force by defendant police officers and denied access to necessary medical treatment, causing his death that same day. Plaintiffs claimed that decedent was prone face down on the ground for a significant amount of time with the body weight of approximately seven officers on top of decedent, which prevented decedent from breathing properly. His family brought an action under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 and the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. All seven officers had civil rights violations alleged against them for Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment Violations.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The City of Oxnard argued that Ramirez died from the large quantity of drugs in his system.

Settlement Discussions

Defendants made no offer of settlement.

Injuries

Decedent's cause of death was restraint asphyxia. Plaintiffs claimed decedent died as a result of not being able to breath due the restraint used by the involved officers. The Ventura County medical examiner, who conducted the autopsy, found that the death was not caused by the drugs that he swallowed and ruled the manner of death a homicide, caused by restraint asphyxia. The drugs ingested were found to be a contributing factor to death but not the cause.

Result

The jury found all seven officers negligent and that one of them used excessive force (4th Amendment) and unreasonable force (battery) against Ramirez. The jury also found that all seven officers acted deliberately indifferent in violation of plaintiffs' Fourteenth Amendment right to a familial relationship with Ramirez. The jury found the officers 52 percent negligent and Ramirez 48 percent negligent. The jury awarded plaintiffs $2,925,000.

Other Information

According to plaintiff, there will be no reduction for negligence because the jury also found in plaintiffs' favor for the Fourth Amendment and battery claims, and contributory negligence is not a defense to the Fourth Amendment or battery.