Crime & Safety
Supervisors Agrees to Settle Lawsuit Against Sheriff's Deputies in La Puente
The lawsuit alleged that sheriff's deputies caused the death of a man during a 2007 arrest.
The Board of Supervisors today agreed to pay $435,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that sheriff's deputies caused the death of a man during a 2007 arrest.
On Apr. 16, 2007, four Los Angeles County deputy sheriffs responded to a radio call in La Puente about a "possibly violently insane person,'' the Sheriff's Department reported. They arrived to find 41-year-old Victor Sandoval "yelling, screaming and striking vehicles.'' He then allegedly tried to get into a nearby residence.
When Sandoval refused to obey deputies, they used pepper spray to subdue him, handcuffed him and, when he kept kicking, put a restraint around his ankles. Sandoval died at some point during the incident, though paramedics were called in to monitor his condition, according to the deputies.
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"The deputies contend that minimal force and restraints were used on Mr. Sandoval and that his death was caused by a preexisting condition,''according to a legal summary of the case.
The dead man's mother, Maria Sandoval, brought suit against the deputies and the county, alleging civil rights violations and negligence on the part of the deputies.
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Citing "the risks and uncertainties of litigation,'' county counsel recommended settlement rather than trial.
- City News Service
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