At around 11 p.m. on May 7, 2013, plaintiffs’ decedent David Silva, 33, a worker of various jobs on and off, fell asleep on a sidewalk near the intersection of Flower Street and Palm Street, in Bakersfield, after unsuccessfully seeking treatment at a nearby hospital’s emergency room and mental health facility. A Kern County sheriff’s deputy responded to the scene and attempted to wake Silva, causing Silva to wake up in a panic. Subsequently, five additional sheriff’s deputies and a police sergeant attempted to restrain Silva, during which two California Highway Patrol officers also responded to the scene and became involved. During the incident, Silva screamed to bystanders for help while struggling for as long as 10 minutes to lift his chest off the ground as deputies pressed down. Silva ultimately died from asphyxiation. The decedent’s girlfriend, plaintiff Tara Garlick, and the decedent’s four minor children, sued the responding sheriff’s deputies, Jeffery Kelly, Luis Almanza, Ryan Brock (initially erroneously sued as “Brian” Brock), David Stephens, Tanner Miller, and Ryan Greer; the responding police sergeant, Douglas Sword; the officers’ supervisor, Sheriff Donny Youngblood; and the officers’ employer, the county of Kern and the Kern County Sheriff’s Department. The complaint was later amended to change the minor children’s guardian ad litem from Garlick to Judy Silva, and to add as plaintiffs the decedent’s mother, Merri Silva, and Chris Silva, as successor in interest to Salvador Silva, the decedent’s father who passed away during the pendency of litigation. In addition, the responding California Highway Patrol officers, Michael Phillips, who assisted with the hobble restraint of the decedent, and Michael Bright, who assisted in handcuffing the decedent, were added as defendants. The decedent’s family alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted excessive force in violation of the decedent’s civil rights, causing his wrongful death. Another one of the decedent’s minor children, acting through her guardian ad litem, Adriane Dominguez, brought a separate suit against the county of Kern and Officers Kelly, Almanza, Brock, Stephens, Miller, Greer, Sword, Phillips, Bright, and Youngblood. She also brought an excessive-force claim. The matters were ultimately consolidated, and the Kern County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Youngblood were dismissed from the case. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the decedent was roused with a knuckle-rub to Silva’s sternum and that during the course of the incident, the decedent was struck in the head and all over his body with batons, subjected to control holds and pain-compliance techniques, bitten in the face by a police dog, compressed against the pavement with weight on his back, handcuffed, hobbled twice, hogtied, and had a spit mask placed over his head. Counsel also contended that during the beating, Silva screamed to bystanders for help and that for as long as 10 minutes, Silva struggled to lift his chest off the ground while deputies pressed down. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel asserted that the repeated occurrence inexorably led to the decedent’s death by asphyxiation. Counsel further asserted that the decedent’s death was wrongful, especially since, at the start of the encounter, the decedent represented an unarmed hospital patient who was sleeping on the sidewalk and not a threat to anyone. Multiple witnesses testified to recording the incident on their cell phones. However, they claimed that following the incident, detectives from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office confiscated their phones and that once the phones were returned back to them, they found that the videos were no longer on the phones. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel asserted that the Kern County Sheriff’s Office deleted the videos, and that the confiscation of the phones and deletion of the videos amounted to a cover-up. Defense counsel asserted that the decedent resisted arrest and posed a danger to the officers. Thus, counsel asserted that the officers’ actions were appropriate., David Silva was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead by hospital officials at 12:44 a.m. on May 8, 2013. He was 33 years old, and was survived by his parents, his girlfriend, four minor daughters, and a minor son. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the decedent had died from asphyxiation. The decedent’s family members claimed that the decedent loved his children dearly. Thus, the decedent’s family sought recovery of wrongful death damages. Defense counsel contended that the decedent’s death was accidental and caused by “cardiac hypertension.”