On the evening of July 22, 2012, plaintiffs’ decedent Alesia Thomas, 35, left her minor children at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Southeast Community Police Station, in Los Angeles, with a note instructing the police to contact the children’s grandmother. Later that evening, officers appeared at Thomas’ home and questioned her. Thomas was eventually placed under arrest on a suspicion of child endangerment. Additional officers, including Mary O’Callaghan, arrived at the scene. While Thomas was handcuffed, Thomas refused to follow the officers’ commands and repeatedly requested emergency medical attention. O’Callaghan subsequently used force against Thomas in an attempt to get her to follow commands. However, once Thomas was in the back seat of O’Callaghan’s patrol car, Thomas complained that she couldn’t breathe and then lost consciousness. An ambulance was subsequently summoned to the scene, but once at a nearby hospital, Thomas was declared dead. Thomas’ children, through their respective guardians, sued O’Callaghan and O’Callaghan’s employers, the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Police Department. Thomas’ family alleged that the actions of the defendants were in violation of Thomas’ civil rights and ultimately caused her unnatural, wrongful death. Plaintiff’s counsel contended O’Callaghan physically and verbally abused Thomas while Thomas was restrained, repeatedly stomping on Thomas’ genitals with her foot, jabbing at Thomas’ throat, and threatening to break Thomas’ arms. Counsel also contended that Thomas’ complaints and demands for medical attention were ignored by other officers present as Thomas was being abused by O’Callaghan. Plaintiff’s counsel cited video and audio, which allegedly confirmed the plaintiffs’ allegations. In addition, plaintiff’s counsel argued that Thomas didn’t refuse the officers’ commands, but couldn’t follow them because she was going into cardiac arrest. Counsel for the city of Los Angeles and the LAPD maintained that O’Callaghan attempted to push Thomas into the back of the patrol car so that Thomas could be transported by the officers, but that Thomas refused to follow orders. Thus, counsel argued that O’Callaghan used reasonable force in response to Thomas’ refusal to follow commands., Thomas sustained multiple contusions as a result of allegedly being stomped on and jabbed. She ultimately went into cardiac arrest, lost consciousness, and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Thomas was 35 years old. She was survived by a minor son and a minor daughter. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that the physical abuse inflicted on Thomas triggered her sickle cell conditions, depriving her blood of oxygen and causing her death. Thus, Thomas’ children, through their guardians, sought recovery of wrongful death survival damages. Defense counsel argued that Thomas’ death was unrelated to her treatment by O’Callaghan. They cited the findings of the coroner’s office, which concluded that Thomas exhibited sickle cell traits and had been intoxicated on cocaine at the time of her death. Thus, the coroner’s report determined that cocaine intoxication had been a significant factor in Thomas’ death.