On Sept. 2, 2013, plaintiff’s decedent Sonny Lam, 43, assaulted his father, plaintiff Tan Lam, 80. A neighbor helped Tan Lam, who spoke little English, call the police to report the incident, and Los Banos police officer Jairo Acosta responded to the Lams’ shared residence. Tan Lam escorted Acosta to a room that Sonny Lam refused to leave. Acosta attempted to convince and physically force Sonny Lam to leave, but Sonny Lam refused and grabbed a pair of scissors. Sonny Lam then grazed Acosta’s left arm, allegedly leaving a small hole in Acosta’s uniform and a scratch on his arm. A struggle then ensued, during which Sonny Lam was shot two times by Acosta. Sonny Lam later died at the hospital. Tan Lam, acting individually and as his son’s successor-in-interest, sued Acosta’s employer, the city of Los Banos. Acosta was later added as a defendant, and the city was removed from the case. Tan Lam alleged that Acosta’s actions constituted excessive force, causing his father’s wrongful death. Tan Lam claimed that, prior to entering the home, he told Acosta that Sonny Lam was mentally ill, but that Acosta failed to call for a translator or wait for backup to arrive. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that physical evidence indicated that Sonny Lam’s body was not touching Acosta’s gun when it was discharged and that Sonny Lam was not facing Acosta, but was likely falling to the floor or already on the ground when Acosta fired the gun a second time. Counsel also contended that Acosta, who is an Iraq war veteran, was previously diagnosed with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, which he failed to disclose to his employer. Counsel further contended that Acosta had a documented history of expressing difficulties with performing his job duties as a police officer and that those difficulties where triggered whenever he conducted house searches or pulled his gun. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that on Sept. 2, 2013, Acosta’s PTSD was triggered, causing him to overreact to the perceived threat and use unreasonable force by shooting Sonny Lam. Acosta claimed that he drew his firearm after Sonny Lam stabbed him in his left arm. He alleged that Sonny Lam then grabbed his gun, causing them to struggle over the weapon. The struggle and stabbing prompted him to fire the gun once, striking Sonny Lam in the right calf, Acosta maintained. He claimed he backed down the hallway, but Sonny Lam followed while still holding the scissors, which prompted him to fire his weapon a second time. Defense counsel contended that there was gunshot residue on Sonny Lam’s hands and a blood trail leading from Sonny Lam’s room, down the hallway, and ending at approximately the location of the second shot. Scissors were also located underneath Sonny Lam. Defense counsel also contended that Acosta was not made aware of Sonny Lam’s purported mental health issues and that Acosta used his firearm a second time because he was afraid for his safety, as Acosta believed that Sonny Lam would stab him again., Sonny Lam sustained two gunshot wounds, one to his right leg and one to his chest. He was rushed to a local hospital, but died from his during surgery. Tan Lam sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of his son, who was 43. He also sought recovery of punitive damages as a result of Acosta’s alleged gratuitous use of deadly force.