On the morning of Jan. 24, 2014, plaintiffs’ decedent Parminder Singh Shergill, 43, a Gulf War veteran, allegedly had a schizophrenic episode at his home. In the past, his family was told to call the police in order to transport Shergill to a Veteran’s Administration Hospital. However, that morning, when officers arrived, they were told that Shergill went for a walk. As a result, the officers said that they would not be able to do anything since he was not posing a threat to himself or anyone else, but that they would talk with him. Two blocks away, the officers spotted Shergill and tried to stop him with their police vehicles, but he ignored them and walked away. An officer then saw or believed that Shergill had a pocket knife with him. Thus, the officers drew their guns and ordered Shergill to drop the knife. However, Shergill continued walking away. Officers Scott Bratton and Adam Lockie then followed Shergill on foot and continued to order him to stop and drop his weapon. Shergill was subsequently shot 14 times and he ultimately died at the scene. It was later determined that Shergill was struck by seven bullets each from Bratton and Lockie. A knife with Shergill’s DNA on it was also found at the scene following the shooting. The decedent’s mother, Sukhwinder Kaur, and the decedent’s adult siblings, Kulbinder Kaur Sohota and Sarabjit Singh Shergill, sued Bratton; Lockie; the officers’ supervisor, Chief of Police Mark Helms; and the officers’ employer, the city of Lodi. The decedent’s family alleged that the actions of Bratton and Lockie constituted excessive force in violation of the decedent’s constitutional rights and that Helms and the city were liable for the officers’ actions. Plaintiffs’ counsel noted that a witness to the encounter took a cellphone picture through a window that showed the decedent lying on his back, which allegedly disputed the officers’ version that the decedent was facing them when he was shot. Counsel also called a witness who testified that the decedent never charged the officers and that the decedent asked the officers not to shoot him. Another witness testified that the decedent was stationary and did not move at all before he was shot. Plaintiff’s counsel noted that none of the witnesses claimed they saw a knife in the decedent’s hand before the officers fired upon him. Bratton and Lockie claimed that the decedent turned toward them and approached them with a knife. They alleged that as a result, they feared for their lives and fired their guns. Thus, they denied that the amount of force used was excessive., Parminder Singh Shergill, 43, sustained 14 gunshot wounds and died at the scene. He was survived by his mother, Sukhwinder Kaur; his adult sister, Kulbinder Kaur Sohota; and his adult brother, Sarabjit Singh Shergill. Plaintiffs’ counsel noted that Kulbinder Kaur Sohota and Sarabjit Singh Shergill, despite being siblings, were allowed to continue as plaintiffs on the 42 USC § 1983 claim due to the court agreeing to the close relationship they had with their brother. The decedent’s family sought recovery of wrongful death damages.