On Aug. 3, 2012, plaintiffs’ decedent Darren Burley, 29, was in the middle of a street when seven Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene. The Los Angeles County Police Department had allegedly received several calls regarding a man strangling a pregnant woman in the middle of the street. When the deputies responded to the scene, a physical altercation ensured that resulted in Burley sustaining several bodily and a lack of oxygen to his brain. He ultimately died on Aug. 12, 2012. The decedent’s minor children — Breniyah Burley, Brejanea Burley, Trayshawn Earl, Daniel Burley, and Dylan Burley — and the decedent’s estranged wife and mother of Dylan and Daniel, Rhandi Thomas, acting individually and as successor in interest of her husband’s estate, sued the deputies’ employees, the county of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The plaintiffs later amended their actions to include the seven responding officers, Steve Fernandez (Badge #511315), David Aviles (Badge #513456), William Lefevre (Badge #533024), John Werner (Badge #504703), Ernest Celaya (Badge #484746), Timothy Lee (Badge #471264), and Paul Beserra Badge #512403). The plaintiffs’ individual actions were also joined for trial. The decedent’s family alleged that the deputies violated the decedent’s of civil rights and that the deputies’ actions constituted battery, excessive force, and negligence, resulting in the decedent’s wrongful death. The civil rights claim was later dismissed by the court via a motion for summary judgment, precluding attorney’s fees. Plaintiffs’ counsel called independent witnesses to testify that one of the deputies beat the decedent in the head with a flashlight, shocked the decedent with a Taser, and choked the decedent until he was unresponsive. Plaintiffs’ counsel also argued, via expert witness testimony, that physical evidence indicated that, the decedent’s chest was compressed during the encounter, causing the decedent’s heart to stop and depriving the decedent’s brain of oxygen. Counsel further argued that the coroner’s report indicated that “restraint maneuvers” were a contributing factor to the decedent’s death. Defense counsel contended that, initially, two of the deputies responded to the scene and encountered the decedent, who was lying face up in the street. The deputies claimed that as they approached, the decedent got up and, with clenched fists at his side and a blank stare on his face, began grunting and growling in their direction. The deputies also claimed that the victim of the decedent’s attack then emerged from a crowd and began screaming hysterically and pointing at the decedent saying, “That’s the man who tried to kill me.” The deputies claimed that in response, the decedent began to run after the victim, causing one of the deputies to tackle the decedent in an attempt to prevent the decedent from further assaulting the victim. Defense counsel contended that as a result, both the deputy and the decedent fell to the ground, causing the deputy to sustain an injury to his knee. Defense counsel contended that after the decedent was tackled, the second deputy attempted to gain control of the decedent, in order to arrest and handcuff him for felony assault, but that the decedent began to punch the second deputy in the chest. Counsel contended that the deputy then struck the decedent in the face, but it did not stop the decedent from attacking. Defense counsel claimed that during this altercation, the decedent ripped the deputy’s microphone from his uniform and, with the microphone in his hand, began grunting and growling, which was broadcast to dispatch and recorded. As a result, other deputies responded to the scene in order to assist in the handcuffing. The defense asserted that the decedent continued to struggle against the other responding deputies, who were attempting to use the least amount of force to try to restrain the decedent. Counsel contended that, at one point, one of the first deputies to respond momentarily placed his knees on the decedent’s back in order to gain control of him, but contrary to the plaintiffs’ theory, none of the other deputies ever placed any weight on the decedent. The defense’s experts agreed that the weight of one deputy on the decedent’s back was not a cause of the decedent’s death. Defense counsel contended that when the decedent continued to resist, a Taser was used in “Drive Stun” mode, where the Taser is held against the target without firing the projectiles so as to cause pain without incapacitating the target. The Taser was applied to the decedent’s ankle and rib cage area. (All experts agreed that the using a pain compliance technique with the Taser was not in any way a cause of the decedent’s death.) Defense counsel further argued that the plaintiffs’ independent witness dramatically changed his account of the incident from what he told the Sheriff’s Department on the night of the incident to what he testified to during his deposition and at trial. Counsel contended that the witness originally did not mention the use of a flashlight or a “choke hold” by any of the deputies. However, counsel contended that nearly two years later, the witness testified that he saw a deputy strike the decedent seven to 10 times in the head with a 12-inch metal flashlight, and that he saw a deputy place the decedent in a “neck hold.” In response, the witness claimed that he did not want to appear to be cooperating with law enforcement at the scene because he was concerned about retaliation from the South Side Crips, of which the decedent was allegedly an admitted member. However, defense counsel argued that the witness did not have a clear view of the incident, any instrument a deputy used or the alleged choke hold used by the deputy. In addition, defense counsel argued that during the incident, the decedent was under the influence of phencyclidine (PCP), cocaine and marijuana, which altered the decedent’s blood chemistry to the point where he developed Rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown in muscle tissue, and hyperkalemia, a dangerous increase in potassium levels in the blood. Counsel contended that the sequela of the increased levels of potassium, as stated by an emergency room physician, was the most likely cause of a sudden cardiac arrest in the field. Counsel also contended that the sudden cardiac arrest caused the decedent to suffer a lack of oxygenated blood to his brain, resulting in the decedent’s brain damage and death. The defense further contended that not only did the paramedics who treated the decedent on the scene note that there was no trauma-related to the body, the emergency room physician that ran multiple tests on the decedent, including X-rays and CT scans, also confirmed that there were no traumatic . Counsel also noted that the plaintiffs, and the lone medical expert they called, presented no evidence to dispute any of the emergency room physician’s physical examination findings or conclusions., Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Darren Burley sustained several bodily and suffered brain damage as a result of a lack of oxygen to his brain. Burley later died on Aug. 12, 2012. He was 29. The decedent is survived by his estranged wife and five minor children. The decedent’s family sought recovery of non-economic damages for the loss of the decedent’s comfort and companionship. They also sought punitive damages. Defense counsel contended that the decedent suffered a sudden cardiac arrest during the altercation due the combination of PCP, cocaine and marijuana that he had taken earlier that day. Counsel further contended that the cardiac arrest caused the lack of oxygenated blood to the decedent’s brain, resulting in brain damage and the decedent’s subsequent death. In regard to the family’s alleged loss of comfort and companionship, defense counsel argued that the decedent’s estranged wife, Rhandi Thomas, moved to Atlanta to be near her family because the decedent offered no support to her or their two children. Counsel further argued that Shanell Scott, the mother of decedent’s two eldest children, Breniyah Burley and Brejanea Burley, admitted on cross-examination that at some point early in her children’s life, she had to seek a restraining order against the decedent.