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.
According to law firm Taylor & Ring, it is the largest pre-trial settlement in a Fresno County police misconduct case.
The case was set to go to trial in a few weeks in a Fresno County courtroom.
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.
He was handcuffed and listened to instructions to sit on the sidewalk.
Officers claimed that Perez tried to stand up and run into the street, which led to them restraining him.
In released body-cam footage, Perez could be heard telling officers he couldn’t breathe while on the ground.
Family members believe officers held him down the entire time, even sitting on Perez for more than a minute as he went silent.
The Fresno County coroner’s office ruled Perez died as a result of homicide caused by “compression asphyxia during restraint.”
In 2019, Taylor & Ring filed a lawsuit in 2019 against the City of Fresno, County of Fresno, the ambulance company and several individual officers.
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.
