Words Matter. Actions Matter Even More. #GeorgeFloyd

If you’re a mother or father, there is nothing more devastating than watching your child being killed before your eyes. The feelings of helplessness, grief and sorrow are with you for the rest of your life.

This is the story of an African American mother and father and what happened to their son. It’s happening to black sons and daughters around the country. You know their names. You’ve watched the videos.

Their Story

Mom and dad needed help. For the past three days, their son hadn’t eaten or talked. He was just sitting at the edge of his bed, staring at the wall and being non-responsive.

This was not the first time this Persian Gulf Navy Veteran was experiencing these medical problems. In fact, he suffered these very same medical problems three to four times a year since returning from his tour of duty a decade earlier. His parents were always there to hold his hand, hug him, and get him to the doctor to make it through these episodes. They were a close family and always had each other’s back.

But this time was a bit different. Their son wouldn’t drink liquids or go to the bathroom. Unlike in the past, this time he was also unwilling to go with his parents to the doctor or emergency room. In fact, on this particular night, he seemed a bit more unresponsive than in the past.

Something was off. Something was wrong. Mom and dad were worried.

Concerned about his health, mom called 9–1–1 and asked for help. She was expecting an ambulance but instead, a white police officer arrived. Although surprised that the paramedics didn’t respond, the officer was invited into the family home to help. He asked mom and dad to have their son be brought out from the back bedroom into the living room so he could talk to him and better access the situation.

Following the officer’s instructions, dad walked back and held his son’s hand as they walked out together. Standing next to their son, mom and dad talked with the officer in their family living room.

Things were calm. The officer was there because the family called for help.

Two more white police officers eventually arrived. While inviting them into their home to help, mom asked, “where are the paramedics?” The two officers walked behind mom, dad and the son while the first officer continued to stand in front of the family.

The first officer asked the son a question. The son didn’t respond. The son continued to stand perfectly still, staring straight ahead in silence, just like he had for the past several days. Mom reminded the officer that her son was not eating, drinking liquids, going to the bathroom and was non-responsive. She told them that’s why she called 9–1–1. They needed help getting their son to the hospital.

The officer acted as though mom had not said a word and in a slightly louder voice, asked the son the same question again. The officer also commanded the son to “sit down.”

When the son didn’t respond or sit down, the two officers from behind grabbed the son and wrestled him to the ground. During the scuffle, one officer placed the son in a carotid choke (blood choke) hold for about 20–30 seconds. While the other two jumped on top of the son to restrain him, all three officers ended up on the family room floor with the son face down and another officer with his full weight and knee placed on the son’s upper back and lower neck.

While face down, the son was placed in handcuffs and dragged outside onto the front lawn. In less than 10 minutes from when the first officer arrived, he was dead.

In addition to being a son, this Navy Veteran was also the proud father of two beautiful young children. Because of what happened, a mother and father lost their son and, two children lost their father.

They Took Action

After this family reached out, I met with them and listened to their story. Together, we began a five-year journey that we would all remember for the rest of our lives.

We filed a lawsuit and undertook an extensive amount of litigation. Together with my clients, we participated in two different non-binding settlement mediations to try and put this tragedy to rest.

During the first mediation the defendants’ argued they did nothing wrong. However, “in the spirit of compromise” they would offer $20,000 to settle the case. The offer was rejected.

The only damages that a family can go after to right a wrong and compensate a loss like this are money damages. These money damages pay for medical bills, funeral expenses, and the pain and suffering experienced by a mom, dad or child, because of the loss of a loved one.

We all know there are not enough zeros we can put at the end of a number to ever make things right, but there is a number that can make someone whole and allow them to try and move forward in their life. There’s also a number that tells society that something bad happened and everyone needs to pay more attention to the health and safety of others.

We pressed on with the case.

Because of one delay after another, including a lack of available courtrooms, almost five years of time passed until this case went to trial. Just before trial, a second non-binding mediation took place. The hearing lasted seven hours and resulted in a final settlement offer of $325,000. All the parties agreed to the tentative settlement offer but understood it needed to be approved by the defendant’s Board of Supervisors. Despite all the lawyers and parties wanting to settle the case, the Board of Supervisors rejected the settlement proposal and ordered its attorneys to defend the case in trial.

The Trial

During trial, the police officers all testified that mom and dad did nothing wrong and were cooperative at all times. One officer testified that the son “lunged” or “stepped” towards him resulting in the other officers grabbing him from behind (he stood and showed the jury what he meant by taking a short half-step forward). Mom and dad and the two officers who grabbed their son from behind didn’t recall a “lunge” or “stepping” of any kind happening.

Mom, dad and all of the officers testified that the son never fought back while being thrown to the ground. What they did testify to was that he “didn’t cooperate” with them while being pushed face down to the floor.

Mom and dad testified that at all times, their son was cooperative. They don’t know why the officers grabbed him from behind. When the second two officers arrived at the house, they appeared agitated and rushed for time. The tension escalated quickly. It didn’t make any sense.

In fact, this is one of the main reasons they brought their wrongful death case. They believed that what took place inside their home that night was preventable and should never have happened.

During this two-week trial, the jury learned that dad was a Deacon in his Catholic Church and both he and mom were actively involved in their community. The jury also felt the love and loss that this very close family experienced because of this young man’s unnecessary death.

They also heard undisputed evidence that the son was well liked and very much respected. Outside of the three or four health incidents each year, this young man was a happy, helpful and friendly member of the community. He was active in his church and coached youth sports. Everyone knew he had served his country and they were happy he came home alive. Helping this young man get through these annual episodes of being non-responsive was simply something the family and his friends were all used to doing.

During trial, the police offers were not allowed to listen to each other testify. As a result, they contradicted each other’s testimony. The defendant’s police misconduct expert even admitted that if the facts happened as mom and dad testified, then the police officers’ actions would constitute police misconduct.

Until I cross-examined the defendant’s medical expert, he was not even aware of the fact that the son had been placed in a carotid choke hold. The expert had testified earlier during direct examination that the loss of oxygen was caused by medical condition (Asthma) and made worse by some type of mystery heart condition. He further opined that the son’s death may have also been caused by something called “excited delirium” which had nothing to do with our case.

In the end, the jury appreciated the fact that our clients and their son did nothing wrong. They found that the officers had acted wrongfully by using an excessive amount of force (I’ll let you figure out why that happened) and awarded $5,500,000 in damages for this tragic wrongful death. This verdict sent a message to the community that wrongdoing by police officers would not be tolerated. It was a fair verdict and the right verdict.

We All Need To Take Action

This was a very long and emotional journey for everyone involved. The death didn’t have to happen and this verdict changed police department procedures and how officers handle these types of non-emergency transport calls.

All of the cases we hear about today involving black victims and white police officers, include real people, families and stories. Yes, the facts of every single case are different, until you see a consistent pattern that tells you that they’re not.

Words are important. But to create change you must take action.

Get involved in your community. Communicate with your elected officials or better yet, run for office. Become active in groups like “Black Lives Matter” or the ACLU. Use the court system to standup for your rights. Backup your voice with focused action.

One more thing.

You must vote on November 3rd. The only way to make change happen is to get involved like I mention above, and vote for elected officials who will make that change happen. Whether it’s equal rights, equal protection, equal opportunity, human rights, gun control, education, healthcare, world peace, or the environment, there’s never been a more important time for Americans to vote in an election.