Facts

Just after midnight, an individual clerking at the Hi-Lite Adult Bookstore called San Diego Police Department dispatchers reporting that a man had threatened him with a knife. It was assigned the highest priority by dispatch. Police officer Neal Browder was the first to arrive and made a turn into an alleyway and stopped his vehicle. Fridoon Nehad emerged from the alley and Browder saw him approach his vehicle. In less than a minute from the time Browder arrived, he fired his handgun. Browder shot Nehad once in the chest. Nehad later died at the hospital. A surveillance video owned by a nearby business recorded the incident. The video shows Browder exiting his vehicle with Nehad walking slowly down an alley. The video shows that Browder shot Nehad at a distance between 15 and 20 feet. It also shows Nehad slowing his pace less than a second before being shot. The video also shows that Nehad did not make any threatening gestures or do anything that would indicate he was a threat to anyone. Nehad's family filed suit against Browder and the City of San Diego.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS: Plaintiffs contended that objectively, Browder's actions were unwarranted. Nehad was unarmed, holding a metallic pen, not a knife. They argued that Browder's shooting was unjustified as he fired the shot within a short time frame of exiting his patrol car. The video shows Nehad walking toward Browder at a slow pace and while Browder activated his high-beams, he did not activate the sirens, police lights, did not turn on his department-issued body camera, nor did he identify himself as a police officer. All of these failures were in violation of proper police procedures. Browder also gave no warning that he was about to shoot. In addition, before discussing the matter with counsel and watching the video, Browder said there were no weapons involved. After speaking to his lawyer and watching the video, Browder then claimed that he believed Nehad had a knife. Specifically, plaintiffs alleged violations of civil rights, assault and battery, negligence, and wrongful death.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Defendants denied all contentions. Specifically, defendants stated that Nehad headed directly toward the police car with a metallic pen that appeared to be a knife, and by the time Browder was able to get out of the car and warn Nehad, Nehad had already closed the distance between himself and the vehicle. According to defendants, given the time, surroundings, and the dispatcher's call, Browder reasonably believed that Nehad was going to harm him or others and used only the amount of force reasonably necessary to protect himself and others. He also argued that he was entitled to qualified immunity.

Result

The case settled for $3 million.

Other Information

In 2019, the Ninth Circuit court reversed the summary judgment in a published opinion that found in favor of Browder as to the unreasonable search and seizure claim. In its opinion, the panel stated that there were triable issues for a jury to decide such as Browder's credibility and use of deadly force given the circumstances and inconsistencies between Browder's statements, eyewitness and expert evidence and the video footage. Specifically, the Ninth Circuit found that "there are genuine disputes about: (1) Browder's credibility; (2) whether Nehad posed a significant, if any, danger to anyone; (3) whether the severity of Nehad's alleged crime warranted the use of deadly force; (4) whether Browder gave or Nehad resisted any commands; (5) the significance of Browder's failure to identify himself as a police officer or warn Nehad of the impending use of force; and (6) the availability of less intrusive means of subduing Nehad." The City also appealed to the US Supreme Court and lost.