On the morning of Sept. 27, 2015, plaintiffs’ decedent Norma Guzman, 37, was holding a knife while standing near the corner of East 22 Street and South San Pedro Street, in Los Angeles. A bystander called 911 to report a woman armed with a knife in the 2100 block of South San Pedro Street. After officers from the Los Angeles Police Department arrived at the scene, Guzman approached Officer Samuel Briggs and Officer Antonio McNeely. When Guzman reached a power pole, with a parked car between the officers and her, the officers shot Guzman multiple times. Guzman’s mother, Gloria Gonzalez, acting individually and as her daughter’s successor in interest, sued the officers’ employer, the city of Los Angeles, and the officers, whose names were unknown at that time. Gonzalez alleged that the officers used excessive force in violation of Guzman’s constitutional rights and that city was liable for the officers’ actions. Guzman’s husband, Marcos Castaneda, acting individually and as guardian of their teenage son, brought a separate action against the city, Briggs and McNeely. Castaneda also claimed that Briggs and McNeely used excessive force in violation of his wife’s constitutional rights and that city was liable for the officers’ actions. The matters were ultimately consolidated. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Guzman was chronically mentally ill, but that she was completely harmless. Counsel asserted that Briggs and McNeely should have attempted non-lethal force, such as using a Taser or pepper spray, before shooting Guzman, but that the officers failed to do so. The officers claimed that Guzman was approaching them with a knife and that she ignored repeated orders to drop the weapon. Thus, they claimed they fired their guns because they feared for their lives., Guzman sustained several gunshot wounds and subsequently died at the scene. She was survived by her mother, Gloria Gonzalez; her husband, Marcos Castaneda, and her son, who was a teenager at the time. Guzman’s family sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of Guzman.
