A case involving a man who died after being stunned with a stun gun by Los Angeles police was dismissed with prejudice by the plaintiff, according to the LAPD and the plaintiff's attorney's office.
An article that appeared earlier on NBCLA.com, citing information from a courtroom clerk, stated that relatives settled the wrongful death lawsuit. That information was incorrect.
The lawsuit stemmed from the death of Jesus Mejia nearly three years ago in Boyle Heights.
The case was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in October 2007 on behalf of Mejia's widow, Karen Guevara, his mother, Carmen Gomez, and his two children.
The confrontation between Mejia and police occurred shortly before 1 a.m. on Sept. 4, 2006, when officers from the Hollenbeck Station were sent to a home in the 3300 block of Whittier Boulevard after receiving reports of a disturbance.
When officers arrived, Mejia was in an agitated, combative state and they believed the 32-year-old married father was under the influence of cocaine, police said previously.
The plaintiffs maintained Mejia was restrained and then shot twice in the stomach with a stun gun in front of his wife and children, even though he had obeyed officers' orders to raise his hands and lie on the floor.
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But police said Mejia refused to comply with officers' instructions. They restrained him and Officer Victor Arellano, a 10-year veteran, shot him with a stun gun, according to the LAPD.
After Mejia was put in a police car, he developed difficulty breathing, according to the LAPD. Paramedics from the Los Angeles Fire Department took him to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he died.
