A jury has awarded $5 million to the family of Riverside man who died in 2019 after California Highway Patrol officers Tased and restrained him, the family’s attorneys announced Friday, Sept. 19.
Leroy Stephenson, 48, was walking on the 91 Freeway in Riverside on Jan. 25, 2019. He was experiencing a mental health crisis and dancing in and out of lanes, according to the family’s attorneys. California Highway Patrol officers found Stephenson at an offramp near Adams Street and tried to get him out of the lanes, but he ran towards the freeway.
CHP Officer Dane Norem deployed his Taser twice and Stephenson fell forward onto the triangle between the freeway exit ramp and the main lanes of traffic, when Norem used his Taser three more times as Stephenson was laying chest-down, according to the family’s attorneys. At this point, he was not resisting or trying to get up, according to a complaint filed by the family’s attorneys.
Stephenson was in a prone, or face/belly down position, with the officer’s weight on his back for two and half minutes as officers struggled to handcuff him, and remained in the prone restraint, held down by officers and civilians, for another three and a half minutes or so, the family’s attorneys said. It was during this time that he stopped breathing.
Officers attempted life-saving measures and emergency medical personnel were called to the scene, but Stephenson was later pronounced dead.
“Expert witnesses testified that once Stephenson was handcuffed, continuing to hold him down in a prone position with his chest pressed into the pavement violated basic police training and safety standards,” the family’s attorney said in a statement.
The jury ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, Stephenson’s three sons, Keandre Stephenson, Devonte Stephenson, and Linden Stephenson, on four claims, Fourth Amendment excessive force, Fourteenth Amendment interference with familial relationship, battery, and negligence, the plaintiffs’ attorneys said.
“The jury found California Highway Patrol Officer Dane Norem and the State of California liable for the wrongful death of 48-year-old Leroy Stephenson… the plaintiffs’ attorneys announced.
“Hopefully, this verdict will help prevent future deaths related to excessive law enforcement prone restraint,” Dale K. Galipo, the plaintiffs’ lead trial counsel, said in a statement.
The California Highway Patrol was unable to comment on the case, citing the possibility of future litigation.
