The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a $5.75-million settlement with the parents of a Marine veteran who died after an LAPD officer stunned him six times with a Taser during a Christmas Eve altercation five years ago. A Los Angeles County coroner’s report determined Mears died from ventricular dysrhythmia because of an enlarged heart and noted that cocaine intoxication and police restraint by a Taser were contributing factors. A federal jury in November 2017 awarded Mears’ family $5.5 million after finding that officers used excessive and unreasonable force while seeking to restrain him. An LAPD sergeant and five officers responded to Mears’ South Los Angeles apartment and tried to physically restrain him before using pepper spray and batons, records show. AdvertisementA year after Mears’ death, the Los Angeles Police Commission deemed the use of force in the encounter within department policy, but it did warrant a tactical debriefing.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 23, 2020 00:45 UTC