Nelson v. County of Los Angeles

On a summer night in 1998, Dwayne Nelson (an adult who had just been released from prison) stood in the middle of a busy intersection and fired a loaded gun into the air and at passing motorists. Someone called 911, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department responded. Dwayne was handcuffed with his hands behind his back and placed in the back of a patrol car. He started thrashing about, and the deputies pulled him out of the car, laid the still-handcuffed Dwayne facedown on the ground, and executed a “total appendage restraint procedure” (TARP). By the time the deputies finished, Dwayne was unconscious. When they rolled him over, he was no longer breathing and the paramedics who came to the scene were unable to revive him. The entire episode was captured on videotape.

Dwayne’s parents, Lottie Nelson and Wallace Nelson, sued the County of Los Angeles (and the sheriff’s department and individual deputies, all of whom are included in our references to the County) for their son’s allegedly wrongful death. The County answered, discovery ensued, and the case ultimately proceeded to trial. A jury found the County was negligent, that the County’s negligence was the cause…