In the early morning hours of May 13, 2008, plaintiffs’ decedent, Glenn Patrick Rose allegedly stole a white Honda. A pursuit with Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies subsequently ensued. The Honda became disabled during the pursuit, and Rose and his female passenger and companion abandoned the vehicle in an alley in Covina. However, when Rose and his female passenger attempted to flee from deputies and California Highway Patrol officers in a pickup truck, Rose was shot and killed by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Steven Winter. The decedent’s parents, Kristy Beets and Glenn Allen Rose, sued Winter and Winter’s employer, the county of Los Angeles. The decedent’s parents alleged that Winter’s actions constituted excessive force, resulting in their son’s wrongful death, and that the county was liable for Winter’s actions. Deputy Calvin Mah and the state of California were at one time named as defendants, but they were ultimately dismissed from the case. The six-year history of the case includes two published appellate decisions from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the California Court of Appeals (Beets v. County of Los Angeles). The passenger in Patrick Rose’s truck was convicted of aiding and abetting assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and the Ninth Circuit held that the passenger’s criminal conviction collaterally estopped the plaintiffs’ federal claims. However, the decedent’s parents re-filed their state law claims in state court, and the California Court of Appeals found no privity between the decedent and his passenger. Thus, it held that the criminal conviction did not bar the parents’ state law claims, which ultimately went to trial. The parties’ attempted to settle with the county twice — one time for $437,500 and a second time for $300,000 — but the county rejected both settlements, and the matter went to trial in the Los Angeles County Superior Court on the wrongful-death claims of negligence and battery. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that by shooting at the driver of a moving vehicle, Winter violated the Sheriff’s Department’s own policy, which prohibits shooting at moving vehicles where officers can step out of the way. Counsel contended that the shot that struck the decedent had a front-to-back trajectory and that the defense’s own experts agreed that the shots had to have entered the truck through either the passenger-side window or the front windshield of the truck, as the truck was reversing. Plaintiffs’ counsel also contended that ballistics evidence put casings from two of the rounds fired by Winter in a driveway and was not in the proximity of the garage. Thus, counsel argued that physical, forensic, and medical evidence showed that Winter was not about to be run over or struck by the truck when he fired and showed that Winter was already out of the truck’s path at the time he fired his weapon. Plaintiffs’ counsel further argued that evidence showed that Winter actually fired at the truck either as it was passing him or after it had already passed him. Winter claimed that he was about to be run over by the decedent’s truck, so he fired at the vehicle in self-defense. He alleged that he fired his weapon as the decedent’s truck was reversing toward him and while he was running alongside of a garage, unable to get out of the truck’s path. Defense counsel contended that the decedent led sheriff’s deputies and CHP officers on a high-speed pursuit involving multiple counts of grand theft auto. Counsel also contended that the decedent was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the incident and that the decedent had a history of drug abuse. Thus, defense counsel argued that once in the alley with the officers, the decedent intentionally turned right to drive toward the officers with the intention of causing them great bodily harm rather than turning left, where there was an easy route for escape. Counsel further argued that Winter reasonably feared for his life and thought he was about to be run over by the truck at the time he fired his weapon. In addition, defense counsel argued that Rose was comparatively negligent., Glenn Patrick Rose sustained a gunshot wound and died at the scene. He was survived by his parents, Kristy Beets and Glenn Allen Rose. The decedent’s parents sought recovery of wrongful death damages.