In 2017, plaintiff Leobardo Caro contacted the county of San Diego sheriff’s deputies for help with a domestic issue after he had an argument with his wife. Deputy Paul Brown III arrived at Caro’s home, in San Marcos, and spoke with Caro in front of the house. Brown ultimately sprayed Caro with pepper spray two times directly in the face. Caro sued Brown, alleging that Brown’s actions constituted excessive force and that Brown caused his malicious prosecution by making false statements in the officer’s report. Caro also alleged that Brown’s actions violated his civil and constitutional rights. Caro claimed that when Brown told him to sit in a nearby chair, he explained to the deputy that he had a bad back and preferred to wait on a sofa across from the patio. However, he claimed that Brown then took out a pepper spray canister and sprayed him in the face at close range. Caro further claimed that when he lowered his face in pain, Brown reached under his face, pointed the canister upward, and sprayed him in the face a second time from a few inches away. Caro’s counsel contended that Caro posed no harm or threat to Brown and that Brown did not warn Caro before spraying him in the face at close range, causing excruciating pain. Counsel also contended that home-security camera footage captured the interaction and that after being sprayed with pepper spray, Caro’s only reaction was to lower his head in pain. Counsel contended that despite Caro’s non-threatening actions, Brown, without warning or justification, immediately stepped forward, reached under Caro’s face and sprayed Caro a second time from a few inches away. Brown claimed that he had no back up officer and that he acted appropriately when Caro posed a threat to him, in that Caro appeared likely to assault him., Caro claimed he sustained pepper spray burns to his eyes and face, causing pain for more than 24 hours. However, he was not taken to a hospital after the incident. Caro further claimed that he developed post-traumatic stress disorder form the incident and that he will potentially require psychological counseling in the future.