Facts

On December 23, 2017, officers working for the City of Los Angeles Police Department responded to a family disturbance at the home where Plaintiff Tammy Murillo lived with her son, Jesse Murillo. Plaintiff's fiancé reported that Mr. Murillo had assaulted him, and he was transported to Kaiser hospital for a dislocated shoulder. Mr. Murillo jumped over a fence surrounding the residence and ran southbound down an alley behind the residence. When he ran down the alley, Mr. Murillo was wearing a gas mask and had a pull bar (a tool used for installing flooring) on his person. The initial officer on scene broadcast information that Mr. Murillo was an "assault with a deadly weapon" suspect who was armed with a machete and possibly attacking family members.

After Mr. Murillo escaped the residence, LAPD Officers Fred Sigman and Christopher Montague responded to the call and stopped their police vehicle in the street at the end of the alley. When Mr. Murillo saw Sigman and Montague's police vehicle, he made a sharp left turn and ran eastbound on the sidewalk, away from Sigman and Montague and past them. Without giving Mr. Murillo a warning or time to comply, Sigman and Montague fired seven shots at Mr. Murillo from the street. When the officers fired, they were behind the doors of the police unit, at a distance of 14 to 25 feet from Mr. Murillo. Sigman fired five shots, and Montague fired two shots. Mr. Murillo was struck by four of the seven shots, and the trajectory of the shots indicated that he was not running directly at the officers, but away from the officers, when he was shot. The video of the shooting and the post-mortem trajectory analysis showed that least one of the shots was fired as Mr. Murillo was going to the ground. The officers' stray bullets impacted a garage, a truck, and a fence in the backdrop of the shooting.

Sigman and Montague alleged that they had to shoot Mr. Murillo because he had a hammer in his right hand and what they believed to be a machete in his left hand, running in their direction, and that they were in fear for their lives. However, the evidence showed that Mr. Murillo most likely did not have a hammer in his hand, although one was found in his clothing after the shooting, and that he did not have a machete, but rather, a pull bar. Additionally, video footage from the officers' body-worn cameras showed that as the shots were occurring, Mr. Murillo was running eastbound on the sidewalk generally away from Sigman and Montague, and the experts in the case on both sides agreed that the officers could not use deadly force for merely trying to run away or escape.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff maintained the following claims at trial: excessive Force (42 U.S.C. section 1983); battery; negligence; and Violation of the Bane Act (Cal Civ. Code Section 52.1). Plaintiff contended that each of Sigman's five shots and Montague's two shots were excessive and unreasonable uses of force, in violation of Jesse Murillo's constitutional right to be free from excessive force. At the time of the shooting, Mr. Murillo posed no immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury to any person.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendants denied plaintiff's allegations in their entirety.

Settlement Discussions

The parties participated in a mediation with Margaret M. Morrow on May 3, 2023.

Injuries

As a result of the shooting, Jesse Murillo endured pain and suffering and lost his life. Also as a result of the shooting, Plaintiff Tammy Murillo lost her son and suffered wrongful death damages, including loss of Jesse Murillo's love, affection, and support.

Result

The jury returned a verdict of $23.8 million total in favor of plaintiff. The jury awarded plaintiff $6.5 million for Jesse Murillo's pre-death pain and suffering, $5.3 million for Jesse Murillo's loss of life, and $12 million for plaintiff's wrongful death damages. Although the jury found Mr. Murillo to be 7% negligent under the doctrine of comparative fault, there will be no offset to the verdict, given that plaintiff prevailed on her claims for excessive force under the Fourth Amendment, battery, and violation of the Bane Act.

Other Information

On August 25, 2023, after deliberating for less than four hours, the jury unanimously found in favor of Plaintiff Tammy Murillo and against Fred Sigman and Christopher Montague on all of Plaintiff's claims, including excessive force under the Fourth Amendment, battery, negligence, and violation of the Bane Act, with the City of Los Angeles being vicariously liable on Plaintiff's three state law claims. Plaintiff's