On June 2, 2019, plaintiffs’ decedent Miles Hall, 23, was in the midst of a mental health crisis related to his schizoaffective disorder. As a result, he held a gardening tool in his hand, which he called his “staff from god,” and told his parents to leave their home. His parents called 911 to ask for assistance in effectuating a Section 5150 hold on their son. When Walnut Creek police officers responded to the scene, they found Hall running around outside. They order him to stop and drop the gardening tool, but, instead, Hall ran toward them. In response, one of the officers shoot Hall with a bean bag shotgun, but it did not disable him. As Hall continued to run past the police, Officers KC Hsiao and Melissa Murphy fired six shots from their handguns, striking Hall, who fell to the ground and died at the scene shortly thereafter. The decedent’s parents, Taun Hall and Scott Hall, sued Police Officers Holly Conners, KC Hsiao, Matt Smith, Melissa Murphy and Tammy Keagy; the officers’ supervisor, Police Chief Tom Chaplin; and the officers’ employer, the city of Walnut Creek. The decedent’s parents alleged that the actions of the responding officers constituted violations of the decedent’s civil and constitutional rights to be free from excessive force and that Chaplin and the city were liable for the officers’ actions. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the responding officers were fully aware of Miles Hall’s psychiatric disorder and that Hall’s actions were the product of that disorder. Counsel also contended that the defendants had prepared a plan to confront Hall, which included using a bean bag shotgun and a Taser, in the event that Hall ran at the officers with the gardening tool, which they knew he possessed. However, plaintiffs’ counsel asserted that no one used a Taser and that the officer specifically assigned to use the Taser never withdrew her Taser and was one of the officers who shot Hall. The officers claimed that they ordered Hall to stop running, which he initially did, but then Hall continued to run at them. They also claimed that they initially used less lethal beanbag shots in an attempt to disable Hall, but that it did not stop Hall from running at them. Thus, the officers claimed that they feared for their safety and acted appropriately., Miles Hall sustained gunshot wounds. He survived for more than 10 minutes after being shot, before he died at the scene. Hall’s mother and father claimed that their son suffered from severe emotional distress before he died. Hall’s parents sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of their son. They also sought recovery of damages Hall’s conscious pain and suffering and fear of impending death after being shot.