In the early morning hours of Dec. 27, 2012, plaintiffs’ decedent Anthony Banta, 22, a hairdresser, was found on top of his sleeping roommate, choking him. After a struggle, Banta was kicked out of the apartment, and the roommate and his girlfriend barricaded themselves in a bedroom. However, Banta broke back into the apartment by crashing through a window and grabbed a large, blue kitchen knife. He then went upstairs and tried to break down the door to his roommate’s bedroom. At 3 a.m., the roommate’s girlfriend called 911, informing the Walnut Creek police that she was locked in a bedroom with her boyfriend and that Banta was trying to break the door down. She and the roommate explained that after a normal evening with Banta, they awoke to him on top of the roommate, choking him. The girlfriend then told a dispatcher that she thought Banta was sleepwalking. However, a struggle occurred and the 911 call went dead as police were arriving at the area of the complex. Police officers responding to the 911 call entered the apartment through a large broken window next to the front door and spotted Banta pacing at the top of the stairs with a blue chef’s knife in his hand. As a result, a Taser was deployed and several officers fired their guns. However, when Banta was at the bottom of the stairs, two officers, Guy Ezard and Sergeant Michael Sugrue, fired again, fatally shooting Banta. The decedent’s parents sued the responding police officers, Holly Connors, Guy Ezard, Amy Griffith, and Sergeant Michael Sugrue; the officers’ employer, the city of Walnut Creek; the former Walnut Creek Chief of Police, Joel Bryden; and the current Walnut Creek Chief of Police, Tom Chaplin. The decedent’s parents alleged that the responding officers’ negligent actions constituted excessive force in violation of the decedent’s Fourth Amendment rights, causing their son’s wrongful death. They also alleged that Bryden, Chaplin, and the city were liable for the officers’ actions. Judge Charles Breyer granted, in part, defense counsel’s motion for summary judgment, finding that the first volley of gunfire and the use of the Taser was lawful. However, Breyer found that the second volley of gunfire involved disputed factual issues that needed to be determined by the jury. Thus, the trial only continued against Sugrue and Ezard. Plaintiffs’ counsel noted that prior to the decedent’s death, both the roommate and the roommate’s girlfriend told police that the decedent acted normal earlier that evening and that the roommate’s girlfriend believed that the decedent was sleepwalking. Counsel also contended that when the decedent got to the bottom of the stairs, Sugrue and Ezard fired their weapons again, killing Banta. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that Banta was unarmed when he got to the bottom of the stairs and that Banta was shot accidentally when he was no longer a threat. Counsel also argued that officers planted evidence at the scene, including the blue knife, and manipulated Banta’s body. Toxicology testing showed that Banta had marijuana and a very low level of alcohol in his system. While Banta had no known history of mental illness, testimony from the plaintiff’s expert pathologist, who performed the autopsy, opined that Banta’s behavior could have been caused by one of three things; a designer drug that could not be detected by testing, an underlying mental illness that suddenly manifested, or psychosis caused by the use of marijuana use. Defense counsel argued that the shooting was lawful and that Banta was still in possession of the blue knife at the time of the second shooting. Counsel contended that the police were aware that a struggle had occurred with the roommate and that the 911 call went dead as they were arriving. Counsel also contended that as the police officers entered the apartment through the broken window, they spotted Banta pacing at the top of the stairs with a crazed look in his eyes and the blue chef’s knife in his hand. The responding officers testified that Banta looked “through” them as they shouted commands, such as “Put down the knife or we are going to shoot you.” The officers further testified that Banta yelled back, “Just shoot me” and then jumped down the staircase, nearly landing on them. They claimed that as a result, several of them fired their weapons. However, the officers claimed that once Banta was at the bottom of the stairs, he partially rose while still holding the blue knife, causing Sugrue and Ezard to fire their guns again. Thus, defense counsel argued that Sugrue and Ezard acted appropriately, as Banta had just tried to kill the officers with the blue knife when he jumped down the stairs at them, was still in possession of the blue knife, and was trying to get up to likely try to attack them again., Anthony A. Banta sustained six gunshot wounds, but it was one shot to his head and another to his chest that were deemed to be fatal. He subsequently died at the scene. He was 22 years old and was survived by his father, plaintiff Anthony J. Banta, and his mother, Angie McFarland. The decedent’s parents sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of their son at the hands of police. Defense counsel contended that forensic evidence proved that the decedent only had limited after the first volley of gunshots and that the decedent was still alive and capable of movement at the bottom of the stairs. Counsel also contended that forensic evidence proved that the decedent was still in possession of the blue knife at the bottom of the stairs, as one of the bullets actually went through his right hand and damaged the blue knife, pieces of which remained in his hand and pieces of which were only found at the bottom of the stairs.