On the morning of Jan. 7, 2012, plaintiffs’ decedent David Ledezma, 52, and his wife, plaintiff Rebecca Ledezma, 52, got into an argument, during which Mr. Ledezma became violent and struck his wife twice in the face and pulled her hair. Mrs. Ledezma’s niece ultimately called the police and, at approximately 4:15 p.m., three Riverside County police officers, Jeff Putnam, Ramon Espinoza, and Paul Miranda, were dispatched to the Ledezmas’ home in Riverside. After speaking with Mrs. Ledezma about what happened, the officers approached Mr. Ledezma, who did not comply with their request to step forward and instead responded, “Hey, just shoot me. I don’t give a f–k.” Mr. Ledezma then pulled out a 7-inch folding knife and held it to his throat and said, “I’ll kill myself right now.” As a result, the officers each drew their pistols and ordered Mr. Ledezma to drop the knife several times. Mr. Ledezma eventually tossed the knife, but he allegedly picked up a pipe immediately thereafter. Putnam ultimately attempted to deploy his Taser, but it was allegedly ineffective. The officers then fired 18 shots in total. Mr. Ledezma was subsequently struck by four bullets, one of which was fatal. Mrs. Ledezma; her daughter who was present at the shooting, Yvette Bachicha; and her daughter who was not present during the incident, Valerie Hernandez, sued Putnam; Espinoza; Miranda; and their employer, the county of Riverside. The decedent’s family alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted excessive force in violation of federal civil rights laws and negligent infliction of emotional distress in violation of state law. The decedent’s son, Adam Ledezma, was originally named as a plaintiff, but was dismissed during trial by stipulation. Jessie Ray was also originally named as a defendant, but he was ultimately let out of the case. The decedent’s family testified that the decedent only held one PVC pipe before the Taser was deployed and that he dropped the pipe and never threw it any of the officers. They also testified that the decedent never had a second pipe, stick or object, as the officers claimed. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that the officers’ perceptions and recollections of the incident were inconsistent as far as the type of objects the decedent allegedly picked up and/or threw, and as to where the Taser probes struck the decedent and whether or not they were effective. Counsel also argued that based on the police audio recording of the incident, there would have been insufficient time (about 3 to 5 seconds) between the last shouted command to “drop the knife” until the first shot was fired for the decedent to have picked up and thrown the first pipe, to have been shocked with a Taser, to have gone to the front of the car and picked up the second pipe, and to have thrown it. In addition, plaintiffs’ counsel presented photographs of the scene (some taken by crime scene investigators), which counsel noted showed no pipes in the area. However, a paramedic that responded to the scene testified that it was possible an item could have been removed from the ground. The officers claimed that the decedent refused to comply with their request to step forward and drop the knife and that the decedent, instead, threatened to kill himself. They alleged the decedent eventually did toss the knife, but immediately picked up a pipe and threw it at them. Putnam claimed that he then deployed his Taser at Mr. Ledezma, but it was not effective due to the distance. The officers claimed Mr. Ledezma then obtained another pipe and either threw it or was in the act of throwing it when they fired their weapons. Defense counsel argued that the decedent was out of control and that the decedent could have stopped the incident at any point, but that he chose to continue his resistance until the police officers had to defend themselves against the decedent’s attack on them. Thus, the defense’s police practices expert testified that the perceptions, tactics, and actions of the officers were consistent with training provided to law enforcement officers throughout California., David Ledezma sustained four gunshot wounds, one of which resulted in his death. He was 52. The decedent is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. The decedent’s family sought recovery of wrongful death damages only for funeral and burial expenses. However, Mrs. Ledezma and Bachicha, who both witnessed the shooting, also sought recovery of damages for their emotional distress.