A federal jury awarded $13.5 million to the family of a man who died after two Los Angeles Police Department put their bodyweight on him while restraining him in 2019, according to the plaintiff's attorney.
Jacobo Juarez Cedillo, 50, encountered two Los Angeles police officers on April 8, 2019 while he was sitting at a Van Nuys gas station.
He was handcuffed "even though he was cooperative and had committed no crime," according to a news release from the Carillo Law Firm. The two officers placed their entire body weight onto Cedillo for over four and a half minutes, the release said.
Cedillo became unconscious, awakened and then the officers once again put their body weight on him until he died.
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A medical examiner determined that Cedillo's death was due to cardiopulmonary arrest, a loss of blood flow to the brain and the effects of methamphetamine.
“The finding that the LAPD had inadequate training on restraint and positional asphyxia is very significant. It is my hope in bringing these cases to trial and getting substantial jury verdicts that law enforcement agencies will take notice and better train their officers and reduce the incidents of excessive force and unnecessary deaths,” Attorney Dale K. Galipo said.
A 2021 California law bars police from using certain face-down holds that create risk of positional asphyxia.
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The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office had no comment on the verdict, spokesperson Ivor Pine told the Associated Press.
NBC4 reached out to the LAPD for a response, but has not received a comment as of Tuesday morning.
