At around 8:40 p.m. on June 27, 2011, plaintiff Samuel Arrington, a disabled person in his 40s, was standing next to his bicycle when he was approached by an officer from the Los Angeles Police Department. The officer was allegedly responding to telephone calls regarding a man riding his bicycle in the area of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Devonshire Street, in Chatsworth. Believing that Arrington was the person in question, the officer attempted to stop him as Arrington began to ride away on his bicycle. Arrington claimed that multiple officers surrounded him while using a police car to assist in blocking his bicycle. The officers ultimately tackled and handcuffed Arrington and took him into custody. During the confrontation, Arrington was struck on the head with an officer’s baton. He claimed that suffered significant physical and mental as a result of being repeatedly struck on the head. Arrington was arrested for violating California Penal Code § 245(C) (assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer), and criminal charges were filed for violating California Penal Code §§ 245(c), 69 (a felony for resisting a police officer), and 242 (battery). After the preliminary hearing, Arrington was held to answer on Penal Code §§ 245(c), 69, and 12202.7 (great bodily injury). He ultimately pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of violating California Penal Code § 148(a) (obstruction, delay or interfering with a police officer’s duties), a misdemeanor. Arrington was incarcerated for over 19 months until he made the plea in January 2013. Arrington sued the county of Los Angeles; the city of Los Angeles; and police officers Daniel Pennington, Russ Graybill, Johnathan Jordan, Eric Olive, and Christian Arrue. Arrington alleged that the officers’ actions constituted excessive force and false arrest, in violation of both state and federal law, and that the city and county were liable for the officer’s actions. Despite being listed on the complaint, the county was never actually a party. In addition, the court dismissed the false arrest claim prior to trial.Thus, the matter continued with the remaining claims against only Pennington, Graybill, Jordan, Olive, Arrue, and the city of Los Angeles. Arrington contended that one of the officers attempted to aggressively stop him after already deciding that he was the person in question and that he did not “become extremely agitated” or ride into oncoming traffic. Instead, Arrington claimed that he was being dangerously chased on his bicycle by two police vehicles and that one of the officers attempted to run him over his a police car. He also claimed that he did not immediately stop because he was initially not in a well-lit area and because he feared for his safety. Arrington contended that when he eventually reached a lit area and stopped, he put his hands in the air and let the police know that he is disabled. However, he claimed that, in response, the officers began yelling racial slurs at him before violently rushing him and proceeding to physically beat him. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that eyewitnesses at the scene of the event supported the claim that the occurrence involved the officers beating Arrington and striking him repeatedly in the head with a baton before handcuffing him and taking him into custody. Moreover, Arrington claimed that the officer hit him on the head with a baton on purpose. In addition, Arrington claimed that after finishing their attack on him, the officers left him bleeding on the floor of the bike lane until emergency personnel arrived on the scene. The officers claimed that they responded to multiple telephone calls concerning Arrington, who was allegedly riding his bicycle against traffic, causing vehicles to swerve, and fighting with passersby in area of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Devonshire Street. However, they claimed that when they made contact with Arrington, he became extremely agitated, began yelling at them. They claimed that Arrington then attempted to ride away on his bicycle, so they ordered Arrington to stop, but Arrington ignored their commands and rode into traffic, causing a vehicle to swerve in order to avoid striking Arrington. The officers alleged that as a result, they stopped one of their police vehicles in the driveway of a Ralph’s parking lot to prevent Arrington from further escaping. However, they claimed that when the officers exited their vehicle and approached Arrington, he became aggressive, charged at one of the officers, and tried to punch the officer. They also claimed that Arrington grabbed the officer and violently threw him to the ground, causing a severe injury to the officer’s back. The officers further claimed that as Arrington continued to attack the officer, another officer drew his police baton in an attempt to strike Arrington on the shoulder to stop the attack, but that Arrington moved, which caused the baton to strike Arrington on the head. In addition, the officers claimed that despite being struck, Arrington continued his attack on the officer and continued to resist arrest, causing other officers to intervene. They alleged that, ultimately, the additional officers were able to overcome Arrington’s resistance, handcuff him, and take him into custody. Thus, the officers denied that Arrington was falsely arrested or that they used excessive force. They also claimed that all of their actions were reasonable and lawful in light of Arrington’s aggressive behavior. In response, Arrington claimed that the officers were lying about the events that took place. However, the officers denied that they lied about any of the events., Arrington sustained blunt force trauma to his head as a result of being struck by the police baton. An ambulance was subsequently requested for Arrington and the allegedly injured officer. Arrington was transported to a nearby hospital and treated for an 8-inch laceration to his head. In addition to his head , Arrington alleged that he suffers from emotional distress as a result of the incident. Defense counsel disputed Arrington’s alleged , arguing that Arrington only sustained a superficial, 4-inch laceration to his head.