San Bernardino County owes $51 million to mother of mentally-ill man killed by deputies, jury says – Los Angeles Times

San Bernardino County owes $51 million to mother of mentally-ill man killed by deputies, jury says  Los Angeles Times

A federal jury has awarded a Southern California mother $51.8 million, believed to be the largest verdict in a police shooting case in California history, for the killing of her son by San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies. Antonio Garza Jr. was shot more than a dozen times at the conclusion of a 35-minute chase from his Yucca Valley home, where he had started a fire, into Palm Springs on Feb. 5, 2023. After a seven-day civil trial, a federal jury this week unanimously found the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department liable for the actions of Deputies Nicholas Kridner and Bill Abernathy, who were accused of using excessive force, violating Garza's civil rights and wrongful death in the incident.

"This was an execution of a mentally ill man," said Garza's attorney, Rebecca Brown, at a news conference Friday. The Sheriff's Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Deputies fired 14 times at Garza and seven more times after he'd fallen to the ground, according to an independent autopsy presented to jurors at the trial. Garza was struck twice in the back and twice on the ground. The deputies involved in the incident were not wearing body cameras. But a video recorded by a motorist on Interstate 10 captured part of the shooting, which had followed a chase. The