On Jan. 4, 2012, at approximately 9 a.m., plaintiffs’ decedent Jazmyne Ha Eng, an unemployed 40 year old, went to the Asian Pacific Family Center in Rosemead to seek help after going off her medication to treat schizophrenia. While Eng was waiting in the lobby, one of her therapists called the Temple City Sheriff’s Department after noticing that Eng had a ball-peen hammer in her lap and reported that there was a “low-level threat emergency situation.” In addition, the director of the family center offered to meet the deputies in the parking lot in order to advise them of the situation. At approximately 4:45 p.m., Sheriff’s Deputies Brian Vance, Daniel Esqueda, Jeremiah Song and Allison Melendez responded to the scene and confronted Eng. The confrontation ultimately resulted in Vance fatally shooting Eng. Initially, the decedent’s parents, Get Lim and Ek Tek Eng, and relatives, Susan Eng, Vincent Eng, Vinly Eng and Nancy Eng, acting individually and on behalf of the decedent’s estate, sued the operator of Asian Pacific Family Center, Pacific Clinics, and the deputies’ employers, the county of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Susan, Vincent, Vinly and Nancy Eng were ultimately dismissed from the federal action (but remain in the State Court action). Pacific Clinics was also dismissed for a waiver of costs and the Sheriff’s Department was let out, as the county as its operator. In addition, the individual deputies were added to the federal action as defendants. Thus, the matter continued with the decedent’s parents’ claims against the county and Deputies Vance, Esqueda, Song and Melendez. The decedent’s parents, Get Lim and Ek Tek Eng, acting individually and as successors-in-interest of the decedent, alleged that the actions of Vance, Esqueda, Song and Melendez constituted excessive force in violation of the decedent’s Federal civil rights and that their negligent actions caused the decedent’s wrongful death. Plaintiffs’ counsel asserted that it was well-known to the workers of the Asian Pacific Family Center, as well as to the community, that the decedent was a gentle and non-violent, high functioning schizophrenic. Counsel contended that while the decedent waited patiently in the lobby for over five hours, an administrator of the family center called the Temple City Sheriff’s Department regarding a 5150 psychiatric hold on the decedent, but also described the decedent as “sitting calmly” in the lobby. However, plaintiffs’ counsel contended that rather than addressing/meeting the family center’s director in the parking lot, the deputies burst into the waiting room and shocked the decedent with a Taser. Counsel also contended that Vance then shot the decedent within moments of entering. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel asserted that Vance used brute force in shooting the decedent and that the deputies, as a whole, did not handle the matter in an appropriate fashion. Counsel further asserted that the incident never should have escalated to the point where deadly force was needed and that the Sheriff’s Department’s own investigation revealed errors in the deputies’ response. The deputies claimed that they feared for their safety when the decedent began waiving the ball-peen hammer over her head and charged at them. They also claimed that the decedent did not respond to the Taser or to their verbal commands to drop the hammer. Thus, counsel for the deputies and the county asserted that the deputies were acting in self-defense and did not use excessive force in causing the decedent’s death. Counsel also that after an investigation of the incident, the District Attorney’s Office ruled that the shooting was justified., Jazmyne Ha Eng was shocked with a Taser and then shot. She ultimately died from the gunshot wound. She was 40 years old. The decedent’s parents sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of their daughter and the loss of her care, comfort and society. They also sought reform in the county’s Sheriff’s Department in the form of re-examining existing policies and educating/training deputies to prevent future incidents. (The Department has since instituted additional training with respect to responding to calls involving mentally handicapped people.)