On May 25, 2017, plaintiffs’ decedent Sean West, 34, was driving north on Mountain Avenue, near Hamilton Road, in Duarte. He was pulled over by a Los Angeles County deputy sheriff who believed West’s physical description matched that of the registered owner associated with outstanding warrants on the vehicle. West was detained in the back seat of the deputy sheriff’s patrol vehicle, and West’s female passenger was arrested for possession of a controlled substance for sale and placed in another deputy’s patrol vehicle. West admitted to also possessing methamphetamine in the center console of his vehicle, and after the drug was obtained, he was also arrested for possession. During the arrest, West began displaying symptoms of taking methamphetamine. As a result, deputy sheriffs requested emergency medical assistance, and West was transported to a hospital for emergency medical treatment. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital. West’s cause of death was listed as acute methamphetamine intoxication. West’s parents, Tim West and Monique West; adult son, Jesse Vella, acting individually and as his father’s successor in interest; and minor son, acting by and through his guardian ad litem, Angella Mueller, sued the employer of the deputy sheriffs, Los Angeles County. The lawsuit alleged that the deputies failed to timely obtain medical care for Sean West, in violation of the Eighth Amendment, and that the county was liable for the deputies’ actions. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the deputy sheriffs were suspicious that West had swallowed methamphetamine during the stop, but that they failed to call for medical help sooner, resulting in West’s wrongful death. The deputy sheriffs claimed that West denied that he had taken methamphetamine and that West only admitted to swallowing the drug later during the stop., West began to overdose on drugs and was transported to Emanate Health Queen of the Valley Hospital, in West Covina. He was ultimately pronounced dead from acute methamphetamine intoxication. He was survived by his father, Tim West; mother, Monique West; adult son, Jesse Vella; and a minor son, whose name was not disclosed. The West family sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of Sean West.