On April 26, 2014, plaintiffs’ decedent Jason Conoscenti, 36, was fleeing from Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies who had responded to calls of an attempted robbery at a Target store, in Compton. The sheriff’s deputies claimed that Conoscenti brandished scissors while struggling with security personnel at the store. Conoscenti subsequently fled the store in a vehicle that ended up in a cul-de-sac near Ocean Boulevard and 14th Place, in Long Beach. By that time, Long Beach police officers had joined the scene, which was caught on video. Visible on the video was a giant staircase leading to the beach below, with about 95 percent of the Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies positioned at the top of the staircase and a number of Long Beach police officers filling the bottom of the staircase. As a result of the large police presence, Conoscenti remained inside his vehicle for at least a half hour. During that time, the beach, located below the cul-de-sac, was widely cleared of beachgoers while the Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies came up with a tactical plan to use less than lethal force, such as beanbag rounds or hard, rubber bullets, if Conoscenti exited the vehicle while unwilling to surrender. The plan also was to have a K-9 sent after Conoscenti, if he exited the vehicle and began to flee, and to shoot Conoscenti, if he exited the vehicle and brandished a weapon. The Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies then communicated the plan to a Long Beach police sergeant. When Conoscenti exited the vehicle and ran toward the stairs in front of beachfront apartment buildings, a K-9 was sent out, and beanbag rounds and/or rubber bullets were fired. However, as the K-9 was about to bite Conoscenti, the Long Beach police officers fired their handguns. Conoscenti was shot from behind and sustained multiple gunshot wounds. He was subsequently taken to a hospital, but ultimately died from exsanguination related to his . The shooting was caught on video. As Conoscenti had no siblings and his parents were deceased, his aunts, Nona Opsitnick and Linda Sterett, acting on behalf of Conoscenti’s estate, sued the city of Long Beach. Opsitnick and Sterett alleged that the officers’ actions constituted excessive force, resulting in their nephew’s wrongful death, and that the city of Long Beach was liable for the officers’ actions. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that although the Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies took a tactical plan and communicated it the Long Beach police sergeant, the sergeant did not communicate the plan to the officers below. Counsel contended that as a result, when the Long Beach police officers heard the beanbag rounds and/or rubber bullets being fired, they thought Conoscenti was armed and in the midst of a gunfight with sheriff’s deputies. Thus, counsel asserted that the sergeant’s failure to communicate the Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies’ plan to the other Long Beach officers caused Conoscenti’s fatal shooting. Plaintiffs’ counsel further contended that Conoscenti was unarmed and that his hands were visible to the officers when he was shot. In addition, counsel contended that Conoscenti was shot additional times as he tumbled down the stairs. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel asserted that the Long Beach officers unjustly used excessive force in the fatal shooting of Conoscenti. Defense counsel contended that the Long Beach officers had an obstructed view of the bottom of the stairs when they heard gunshots from above. Counsel contended that the officers subsequently thought they were hearing a gun battle and, believing Conoscenti was still armed, fired when they saw Conoscenti reach for his waistband. Defense counsel further contended that the Long Beach police officers feared that nearby beachgoers would be harmed and acted accordingly. In response, plaintiffs’ counsel contended that if Conoscenti had exited the vehicle with a weapon, there would have been multiple broadcasts, but that none were sent. Counsel also contended that the video of the shooting showed that Conoscenti had his hands on the railing of the stairs and that no weapons of any kind were found on or near Conoscenti, including in his waistband. In addition, plaintiffs’ counsel disputed the claim that officers feared for beachgoers, noting that the beach was widely cleared of beachgoers while Conoscenti was in his vehicle and that the video clearly showed vast areas were not one pedestrian was seen., Conoscenti suffered multiple gunshots and was taken to a hospital. He passed away a half hour later due to the loss of blood (exsanguination). Conoscenti’s aunts, Opsitnick and Sterett, claimed that they were close with Conoscenti and even lived together for periods of time. Thus, they sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of their nephew.