On May 25, 2007, plaintiffs’ decedent Steve Salinas, 47, a Hispanic truck driver, and his girlfriend occupied a room on the first floor of the Vagabond Motel on North First Street in San Jose when police officers entered the room in response to a complaint. San Jose Police Officers Robert Davis, Roderick Smith, Barry Chikayasu, Michael McLaren and Jason Woodall initially arrived at the hotel in response to a service call about a woman that had fallen from a second story window at a hotel. However, while there, a hotel guest complained about sounds coming from the first floor hotel room occupied by Salinas and his girlfriend. When the officers observed that one of the windows to the room was broken, they made entry into the hotel room despite statements by Salinas’ girlfriend that everything was okay. Upon entry, the officers observed Salinas standing naked in the room, sweaty and grunting. Salinas was ultimately shocked 10 times with a Taser and subdued in the prone position by four officers. However, Salinas died during the incident. The medical examiner found that Salinas had angel dust, or phencyclidine, a “dissociative” anesthetic, in his system at the time of his death. As a result, the medical examiner determined that Salinas’ cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest in an individual under the influence of PCP during a violent, physical struggle. The decedent’s adult children, Noreen Salinas, Carlos Salinas, Loretta Salinas and Anna Olivia Salinas, sued Police Chief Robert Davis; Police Sergeants Woodall and McLaren; Police Officers Smith and Chikayasu; their employer, the city of San Jose; and the manufacturer of the Taser, Taser International Inc. The decedent’s children alleged that the police used excessive force during the incident, constituting battery and resulting in their father’s wrongful death. They also alleged that Taser International was negligent in its warnings about the Taser. Prior to trial, the court granted Taser International’s motion for summary judgment, finding that it adequately warned police of the risks of using the device. In addition, at the close of the plaintiff’s case, the court granted the police’s counsel’s motion for judgment on the grounds of qualified immunity. Thus, the case was submitted to the jury on a single claim of battery against the city, Smith, McLaren, Woodall and Chikayasu only. Plaintiffs’ counsel noted that the decedent was naked and unarmed during the incident, and contended that the decedent did not threaten or attempt to cause harm to any person. Counsel also contended that even though the decedent complied with the officers’ commands to turn around and come closer to the open door to the room, Chikayasu shocked him with a Taser for the first time, causing the decedent to fall the ground. Counsel asserted that the four officers then used their body weight to subdue the decedent and while he was prone on the ground with one hand pinned beneath him and the other hand behind his back in the handcuff position, the decedent was shocked nine additional times with a Taser. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the decedent was shocked a total of 10 times in 93 seconds, making each Taser deployment excessive and unreasonable under the circumstances. Counsel asserted that the four officers collectively outweighed the decedent by more than 600 pounds, so they should have been able to subdue the decedent without using the Taser. Counsel also asserted that the officers had been warned that prolonged use of a Taser can lead to death and that drug users are at higher risk of adverse medical reactions. As a result, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that the officers violated their own department’s Taser policy instructing them to avoid multiple Taser “applications,” if possible, and that the officers’ negligent use of the Taser ultimately caused of the decedent’s death. The police officers claimed that the decedent was too dangerous to approach because he exhibited symptoms of PCP intoxication, which made him unpredictable, impervious to pain and potentially violent. Chikayasu failed to appear at trial, so he did not testify. However, defense counsel argued that Chikayasu’s use of the Taser was necessary for the officers to safely gain control of the decedent. Counsel also argued that the decedent, who weighed 260 pounds and had a heart condition, died from a PCP overdose, based on blood concentrations of PCP more than two times the toxic level, and not from the use of the Taser or from the efforts used to take him into custody., Steve Salinas was shocked 10 times with a Taser and suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest. He ultimately died at the scene. The decedent was 47. He was survived by his four adult children. The decedent’s children claimed that the excessive use of the Taser caused their father’s cardiopulmonary arrest that led to his death. Thus, they sought recovery of damages for their father’s wrongful death, as well as sought recovery of attorney fees under federal and state law. Defense counsel disputed the decedent’s cause of death, arguing that the decedent’s cardiopulmonary arrest was not caused by the officers’ use of the Taser. Counsel noted that the medical examiner determined that the cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest in an individual under the influence of PCP during a violent, physical struggle. Thus, defense counsel argued that the decedent, who weighed 260 pounds and had a heart condition, died from a PCP overdose, based on blood concentration levels showing the presence of more than two times the toxic level of PCP in his system.