On June 4, 2011, plaintiff Javier Cota, an Arizona police officer, was visiting San Diego when he and his nephew met two women during a night out downtown. After sharing a pedicab, one of the women got out of the vehicle and appeared to get in another car in an attempt to drive away. However, after seeing the women walking to their car while slurring their words and staggering, San Diego Police Officers Justin Mattly and Ariel Savage stopped the women to see if they were capable of driving. As the officers began a field sobriety test on the woman, Cota allegedly yelled at the officers in order to protect the women, as the San Diego Police Department was in the midst of a sexual misconduct scandal at the time. Cota was subsequently handcuffed and eventually dropped him off at a detox center on a suspicion of being drunk in public. Cota was later released and not charged. Cota sued Mattly; Savage; the officers’ supervisor, Chief of Police William Lansdowne (initially erroneously sued as William “William Landsowne”); as well as Assistant Chief Boyd Long, San Diego Police Department Sergeant C.M. Sarot, San Diego Police Department Lieutenant Dan Christman, and San Diego Police Department Sergeant Bret Righthouse. Cota also sued the officers’ employer, the city of San Diego. Several police officers were dismissed by the court on summary judgment, and the matter continued against only Savage, Mattly and the city. Cota claimed that he had five drinks that night, but that he was not intoxicated. Thus, he alleged that he was falsely arrested in retaliation for yelling at the officers. Cota contended that the officers did not double-lock the handcuffs, that they drove recklessly around corners on the way to detox, and that the ride took up to an hour. He also contended that the officers did not give him an alcohol breath or blood test and that the officers had no probable cause to arrest him. In addition, he contended that the officers’ used excessive force. Defense counsel contended that Cota yelled expletives at the officers, interfered with their duties, and continued to harass them. Counsel contended that Cota appeared to be heavily intoxicated and that Cota stated that the officers were not being nice to the women. One of the officers even claimed that Cota passed out in the back of his police vehicle. In addition, defense counsel argued that the automatic vehicle location system totally discredited Cota’s story, as the ride to detox center actually took seven minutes and the speed around the three corners was 4 mph, 4 mph and 8 mph, respectively., Cota claimed that as a result of the incident, he was demoted from sergeant and was forced to step down from his role as president of the police officers’ union. He also claimed that he was forced to retire in 2012 due to the backlash he received when he returned to Arizona. Thus, Cota sought recovery of damages for his pain and suffering and humiliation. However, at trial, Cota did not make a claim for lost wages.