On Jan. 14, 2012, plaintiff Amy Duran, unemployed, claimed that she was falsely arrested for child endangerment by Porterville Police Officers M. Gray and Bruce Sokoloff at her residence in Porterville. Duran’s 2-year-old son was also taken away by Child Protective Services. Duran sued Gray; Sokoloff; and the officers’ employers, the city of Porterville and the Porterville Police Department. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that Gray and Sokoloff were responding to a welfare check call, which was initiated by Duran’s parents, whom Duran had underlying conflicts with. Duran claimed that everything was fine when the police arrived, but that Gray and Sokoloff arrested her for no reason. She also denied being intoxicated or there being a gas smell in her home, as the defendants alleged. Defense counsel contended that the Porterville police received a call from Duran’s mother asking them to do a welfare check on Duran, as Duran allegedly left a long voicemail that caused Duran’s mother to believe that Duran was abusing alcohol and prescription drugs. Gray and Sokoloff claimed that when they arrived at the scene, they were immediately met with the strong odor of natural gas coming from Duran’s house. They alleged that when they went inside, they found that the gas stove was on, but that the flame was not lit. They also alleged that they observed a broken wine glass and that Duran appeared to have been drinking and was incoherent. The officers added that Duran said she was ready to go to sleep when they arrived. Gray and Sokoloff claimed that as a result, they called the fire department, which ventilated the house. In addition, they claimed that Duran refused to let her parents take her son as she was being arrested, so the son was taken by CPS. A firefighter testified that he also smelled the odor of gas coming from Duran’s house, and he noted the dangers of explosion and asphyxiation. Thus, defense counsel argued that if the officers had not intervened, the consequences would have been tragic., Duran spent five days in jail. She claimed she suffered emotional distress as a result of having her child taken away by CPS. However, Duran testified that she had very little recollection of the day of the incident and used a therapist to recall what happened through hypnosis. Defense counsel noted that one month after the subject incident, Duran’s son was taken away by Los Angeles County officials in a different case.