On Jan. 3, 2018, plaintiffs’ decedent Sahleem Tindle, 28, was shot and killed by a police officer, Joseph Mateu III. The incident occurred on the 1400 block of Seventh Street, across from the West Oakland Bay Area Rapid Transit station, in Oakland. Tindle’s mother, Yolanda Banks-Reed, and his two minor children, who were represented by their guardian ad litem, Ciara Turner, sued Mateu; Mateu’s employer, Bay Area Rapid Transit; and Mateu’s supervisor, Carlos Rojas. The lawsuit alleged that Mateu’s actions constituted excessive force and that Rojas and BART were liable for Mateu’s actions. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Tindle was in a struggle with another man over a gun when Mateu shot Tindle in the back as Tindle raised his empty left hand. Counsel argued that Tindle could not raise both his hands to surrender because one hand was being held down by the other man during the struggle. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Mateu should have followed BART policy by giving a warning before firing his gun, but that Mateu did not do so. Counsel noted that, in Mateu’s post-shooting interview, Mateu claimed that the reason he shot Tindle was because he misperceived Tindle as trying to stand up. However, plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Tindle’s description of the incident differed from what the video showed, which was that Tindle stayed on his knees and was trying to surrender at the time of the shooting. Defense counsel noted that body camera footage and witness testimony showed that Mateu was responding to an active shooter across from a BART transit station when Mateu saw two men wrestling over a gun. Counsel contended that Mateu ordered the two men to show their hands for nearly seven seconds and that Tindle picked up the gun with his left hand and turned his back to Mateu, hiding the gun while still fighting with the other man. Counsel also contended that, two seconds later, Tindle’s left hand came free, but that the right hand did not. Defense counsel argued that Mateu noticed that the gun was not dropped as Tindle turned his body toward the other man, so Mateu fired three shots, believing Tindle had the gun and would fire at the other man. Counsel also argued that after being shot, Tindle fell, dropped the gun from his right hand and then raised his hands in surrender. The matter was tried in two phases, with the first phase addressing the excessive-force claims and the second phase addressing the negligence claims. In the first phase, the court only allowed evidence of what Mateu knew at the time he fired his weapon. In the second phase, the court allowed evidence about Tindle being an ex-felon with a gun and about Tindle having brought the gun to the scene. The court also allowed evidence in the second phase about how Tindle challenged the other man to shoot, about how the man charged Tindle, and about how Tindle fired the gun, causing a bullet to strike the other man in the leg., Tindle sustained a gunshot wound and died. He was 28 years old. He was survived by his mother, a 10-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter. Tindle’s family sought recovery of wrongful death damages.