FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — The family of a man who died after being restrained by Fresno police in 2017 has reached settlements totaling more than $10 million, according to attorneys representing the family.
The family of a man who died after being restrained by Fresno law enforcement in 2017 has reached settlements totaling more than $10 million, according to attorneys representing the family. (Video: Fresno Police Department)
The City of Fresno agreed to pay $6 million and Fresno County agreed to pay $4 million in the case involving Joseph Perez.
Attorneys say a private ambulance company also reached a separate confidential settlement.
Perez died in May 2017 after officers responded to reports of an unarmed man talking to himself near Palm Avenue and Santa Fe Drive.
Body-camera footage later released publicly showed Perez handcuffed and restrained face-down as emergency personnel placed a backboard over him.
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An officer then sat on the board at a paramedic’s direction while Perez repeatedly said he could not breathe.
Perez later lost consciousness and died.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Coroner classified his death as a homicide caused by compressive asphyxia during restraint.
His family filed a lawsuit in 2019 alleging wrongful death, excessive force, battery and gross negligence.
The settlements were reached weeks before the case was scheduled to go to trial.