Confidential

Facts

On Feb. 9, 2001, at 1:38 a.m., the decedent, an African-American bus driver and father of three children, was residing at 7507 Mandy Drive in Sacramento where he lived with his wife Satanya Venerable. The decedent and his wife had separated but had recently resumed living together. At approximately 1:30 a.m., Satanya Venerable arrived at 7507 Mandy Drive after an absence of several days and found the decedent with another woman. Satanya Venerable began vandalizing the decedent's car, striking it with a piece of wood. The decedent called the Sacramento Police Department and asked for their assistance. Officers of the Sacramento Police Department, including the defendant Ellis, responded to the decedent's home but advised the decedent that they could not do anything about his wife vandalizing the car because it was her property as well as his. The police officers began leaving the area. The decedent then struck his wife's car with the same piece of wood that she had used to vandalize his car. The police officers returned to the scene and attempted to detail the decedent by drawing their guns and ordering him to raise his hands. The decedent complied. In his right hand was the cell phone the decedent had used to telephone the police. As the decedent was raising his hands, a taser gun was fired at him and immediately thereafter, the decedent was shot and killed by the defendant Ellis. At the time he was shot, he was unarmed and was attempting to comply with the officer's request. The decedent was transported to U.C. Davis Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds. Several witnesses testified that they heard the decedent yell that he was only holding a cell phone. The defendants claimed that the decedent was not complying with the officers' requests and that the use of force was justified. The settlement was on behalf of the decedent's parents and children. His wife's case is still pending.