The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to pay $3.8 million to the family of a man who died after a sheriff’s deputy shocked him with stun gun seven years ago.
Relatives of Brian Pickett alleged in a lawsuit that deputies used excessive force during the 2015 incident in Willowbrook.
In a memo recommending supervisors settle the case, county lawyers said while the deputies claimed their actions were reasonable, the payout was needed because of the “risks and uncertainties of litigation,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
Deputies responded to a disturbance call at the home of Pickett’s mother, who told authorities he was threatening her after taking drugs, according to an incident summary attached to the memo obtained by the Times.
Pickett refused commands to place his hands behind his back and step out of a bathroom and grew increasingly agitated, the summary said. That’s when a deputy fired his stun gun, shocking him for 29 seconds, nearly six of the device’s 5-second activation cycles, according to the Times.
After Pickett was handcuffed, he went into cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Prosecutors concluded that deputies used lawful force and declined to file criminal charges. Sheriff’s officials found the use of force was within department policy, the Times said.