On Nov. 2, 2017, plaintiffs’ decedent Ricardo Cendejas, 20, a schizophrenic, was walking behind a residence on East Lucien Street, in Compton, while carrying an assault rifle. When a gunshot was reported, deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department put out a radio call about a person armed with a firearm. A Special Weapons and Tactics team was called to the scene. Cendejas eventually put down the weapon and began speaking with a nearby resident. When Cendejas turned around to face the street, Sheriff’s Deputy Juan Rodriguez, a member of the SWAT team, fired three shots. Cendejas sustained two gunshot wounds and ultimately died at the scene. Cendejas’ parents, Ricardo Cendejas Sr. and Maria Penaloza; stepmother, Maria Cendejas; and two minor stepsisters, who were acting through their guardian ad litem, Maria Guadalupe Morales De Cendejas, sued Rodriguez and Rodriguez’s employer, Los Angeles County. The lawsuit alleged that Rodriguez’s actions constituted a violation of the younger Ricardo Cendejas’ civil and constitutional rights to be free from excessive force and caused his wrongful death. The lawsuit further alleged that the county was liable for Rodriguez’s actions. Ultimately the matter proceeded only with the claims brought by Cendejas’ parents and estate. Cendejas’ father claimed that when he arrived at the scene before the shooting, he attempted to tell the deputies that his son suffered from a mental illness and that he pleaded with them to allow him to speak with his son. He claimed that, instead, he was taken to the ground, handcuffed and eventually arrested. Cendejas’ stepmother, Maria Cendejas, and one of his minor stepsisters claimed that they also attempted to persuade the deputies to let them speak with Cendejas, but that they were also both handcuffed and arrested. The responding deputies claimed that when deputies first responded to the scene, they heard a gunshot fired from a “long rifle” and a bullet struck a tree near one of them. They claimed that they believed that Cendejas was trying to shoot them, so they called for a SWAT team. They claimed that when the SWAT team arrived and began to pursue Cendejas, a nearby school got let out, so there were parents and children walking in the area. The deputies further claimed that as they drew closer to Cendejas’ location, the last acknowledged radio update indicated that Cendejas was seen armed with an assault rifle. Rodriguez claimed that as he rounded a corner, he saw Cendejas turn toward him. He claimed that even though it later turned out that the rifle was put down against the building within reach of Cendejas, from his angle, it looked like Cendejas was still holding the weapon. Rodriguez claimed that in the moment when Cendejas turned toward him and the other deputies, he felt that his life and the lives of others were in jeopardy and that since he feared for his life and the life of others, he was not unjustified in the firing of his weapon., The younger Ricardo Cendejas sustained gunshot wounds and died at the scene. He was survived by his father, mother, stepmother and two minor stepsisters. Cendejas’ father, Ricardo Cendejas Sr., and mother, Maria Penaloza, sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of their son.