Facts

On May 25, 2007, San Jose City police officers responded to a service call that a woman had fallen from a second story window at a hotel. When officers arrived, a hotel guest complained about sounds coming from a first floor hotel room occupied by 47 year-old Hispanic male Steve Salinas and his girlfriend. Officers observed that one of the windows to Salinas' room was broken and they made entry into the hotel room despite statements by Salinas' girlfriend that everything was okay. The officers observed Salinas standing naked in his room, sweaty and grunting. Salinas was tased 10 times, subdued in the prone position by four officers, and he died. Salinas had Phencyclidine in his system at the time of his death. The medical examiner determined that Salinas' cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest during a violent physical struggle in an individual under the influence of Phencyclidine.

Plaintiffs sought wrongful death damages and attorney fees under federal and state law.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs claimed that Steve complied with the officers' commands to turn around and come closer to the open door of the room. Steve Salinas did not threaten or attempt to cause harm to any person. Steve Salinas was naked and unarmed. When Barry Chikayasu tased Steve Salinas the first time, Steve Salinas fell to the ground. Four officers used their body weight to subdue Steve and, while he was prone on the ground with one hand pinned beneath him and another hand behind his back in the handcuff position, Steve Salinas was tased nine additional times. Steve Salinas was tased a total of 10 times in 93 seconds.

Plaintiffs further contended that each taser deployment was excessive and unreasonable under the circumstances and that the taser use was a cause of Steve's death.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendants contended that Steve violently struggled with the officers, that he was grunting and groaning like a madman high on Phencyclidine, and that all deployments of the taser were reasonable under the circumstances. Defendants further claimed that the taser probes did not deliver all ten cycles of electrical charge to Steve during the struggle and that the lethal levels of Phencyclidine in his system, not the taser use, caused Steve's death.

Result

The jury found that the force used was unreasonable; and that the unreasonable force was a cause of Steve's death. The jury awarded $1 million in damages to plaintiffs.