FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A $10 million settlement has been reached for the family of Joseph Perez, who died during an interaction with the Fresno Police Department and Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.<\/p>\n
EDITOR’S NOTE: The video above is from a previous broadcast and will be updated.<\/p>\n
According to law firm Taylor & Ring, it is the largest pre-trial settlement in a Fresno County police misconduct case.<\/p>\n
The case was set to go to trial in a few weeks in a Fresno County courtroom.<\/p>\n
Back on May 10, 2017, Fresno police and the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office were called out to Palm Avenue and Santa Fe Drive for reports of Perez talking to himself.<\/p>\n
He was handcuffed and listened to instructions to sit on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n
Officers claimed that Perez tried to stand up and run into the street, which led to them restraining him.<\/p>\n
In released body-cam footage, Perez could be heard telling officers he couldn’t breathe while on the ground.<\/p>\n
Family members believe officers held him down the entire time, even sitting on Perez for more than a minute as he went silent.<\/p>\n
The Fresno County coroner’s office ruled Perez died as a result of homicide caused by “compression asphyxia during restraint.”<\/p>\n
In 2019, Taylor & Ring filed a lawsuit in 2019 against the City of Fresno, County of Fresno, the ambulance company and several individual officers.<\/p>\n
Approximately $6 million will be given by the city, with another $4 million coming from the county and an undisclosed amount coming from the ambulance company.<\/p>\n
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