During the night of Jan. 17, 2012, plaintiffs’ decedent Johnathan Rose, 24, a paranoid schizophrenic, was with his family in their North Highlands home when he became agitated and started to act out. His parents subsequently contacted 911 for a welfare call, and Sacramento County Sheriff’s Deputy David McEntire responded to the home. An altercation ensued between Rose and McEntire, and McEntire ultimately shot Rose three times. Rose died at the scene. The decedent’s parents, Theodore Rose and Karen Rose, sued McEntire; McEntire’s supervisor, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones; and McEntire’s employer, the county of Sacramento. The decedent’s parents alleged that McEntire was negligent in the use of excessive force in violation of the decedent’s Constitutional rights. They also alleged that Jones and the county were liable for McEntire’s actions. Jones was ultimately let out of the case, and the matter continued to trial against McEntire and the county. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the decedent’s parents called 911 to have Rose taken in for a mental-health evaluation after a day in which the decedent had grown increasingly angry and agitated. However, counsel contended that by the time McEntire arrived, Rose had taken his medication, calmed down, and gone to sleep. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that within minutes of entering the house, McEntire, who was 250 pounds, escalated the situation by pushing past the decedent’s father, who answered the door, approaching the bed where the decedent was sleeping, waking up the decedent, and then ordering the decedent to lie face down on the ground so that he could be handcuffed. Counsel acknowledged that the decedent refused to lie on the ground, but contended that the decedent presented his hands to be handcuffed. However, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that McEntire responded by striking the decedent on the head with a metal flashlight, causing the altercation, during which McEntire drove the decedent into the dining room wall and grappled with him atop a mattress, before firing upon the decedent at close range, killing him. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that McEntire escalated the situation and used improper tactics when responding to the parents’ call for help with their mentally-ill son. Counsel also argued that the use of deadly force against Rose, who was unarmed and not under arrest, was excessive and unreasonable. McEntire testified that as soon as he stepped into the home, he was verbally challenged by the decedent, and was attacked “with unrelenting aggression” and without warning or provocation. He also claimed that he was pinned to the mattress by the decedent, who was 261 pounds, and that the decedent, who was out of control, continued to strike him multiple times. He further claimed that at the same time, the decedent’s father, who was sick, failed to pull the decedent away from him and that after receiving continuous blows to the face, head, and body, he began to feel that he was losing consciousness. In addition, McEntire claimed that he felt the decedent grab his service belt, which contained his firearm and knife, causing him to fear for his life. He alleged that as a result, he appropriately reacted by pulling his firearm and shooting the decedent three times., Johnathan Rose sustained three gunshot wounds at close range and died at the scene. He was 24 years old and was survived by his parents. The decedent’s father, Theodore Rose, claimed that he could feel the bullets enter his son’s body as he tried to restrain him. Thus, the decedent’s parents sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of their son.