CA Man Paralyzed From Police Traffic Check Gets $20M

CA Man Paralyzed From Police Traffic Check Gets $20M

Introduction

A guy from Northern California who was knocked to the ground during a traffic check and suffered paralysis received one of the highest settlements of $20 million in state history.

In 2022, an army veteran from Yuba City filed a lawsuit against the police force after they employed pain compliance methods and showed scepticism when he repeatedly shouted out, "I can't feel my legs." According to a video supplied by the plaintiff's attorneys, police officers also dismissed the plaintiff when he yelled, "I can't breathe," while being placed facedown on a hospital lawn.

In April 2020, the guy was charged with driving while intoxicated and caused a slow-speed accident. He had two procedures to fuse his spine after suffering a fractured neck. He claimed that because of the officers' use of force, he is no longer able to move or take care of himself and would require 24-hour nursing care for the rest of his life. The plaintiff's counsel declared, "We are not against the police." We support the police, but when it happens, we oppose police brutality.

The agreement is among the biggest in California's recorded history regarding police misbehaviour. In May, the state agreed to pay $24 million to the family of a man who passed away while being held by police after yelling, "I can't breathe," while being detained by several cops as they attempted to draw blood.

According to the agreement, Yuba City will also begin inspecting bodycam footage taken by officers and assessing instances of use of force at random. He offered the man an apology at a press conference.

The man claimed that the police changes are crucial to preventing incidents like his from happening again. He is giving the California Peace Officers' Memorial Foundation $20,000 in his honour.

Additionally, the guy sued Rideout Memorial Hospital in Marysville and the University of California, Davis Medical Centre separately in 2021, claiming that their activities contributed to his health. Invoking client confidentiality, the plaintiff's lawyer declined to comment on the claims' progress.

The plaintiff's attorneys provided a police body camera footage in which an officer can be seen twisting the man's already shackled arms and forcing him to sit down on a grass. The man screamed repeatedly that he couldn't feel his legs or breathe, and at one point cops threw him to the ground and kept him face down.

A democratic governor of California signed a measure outlawing certain facedown holds that have caused several unintentional fatalities in September 2021. The purpose of the law was to broaden the state's ban on chokeholds following a homicide.