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$10 Million Settlement in Fresno Police Custody Death — Largest Pre-Trial in County History
The family of Joseph Perez will receive more than $10 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit against the Fresno Police Department, Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, and American Ambulance. The settlement resolves claims stemming from Perez’s 2017 death during a restraint captured on police body camera video.
It’s the largest pre-trial settlement in a Fresno County police misconduct case, according to the family’s law firm.
The case was set to go to trial in a few weeks.
On May 10, 2017, Fresno police and sheriff’s deputies responded to Palm Avenue and Santa Fe Drive after reports of Perez talking to himself. Body camera footage shows Perez, 44, handcuffed and lying face down on the ground, struggling with seven law enforcement officers. An officer sat on top of Perez for more than a minute as paramedics worked to secure him to a gurney backboard. The video captured Perez saying “I can’t breathe” before he went silent.
The Fresno County coroner ruled Perez’s death a homicide caused by compressive asphyxia during restraint.
“As we all know, a homicide is a killing of one person by another, and here Mr. Perez was killed by the deputies and officers and paramedics on scene because they continued to exert pressure on his back as he yelled, I can’t breathe for over 15 minutes,” said Niel Gehlawat, the family’s attorney.
At the time of Perez’s death, then-Fresno Police Chief Andy Hall described Perez as “uncooperative” and “physically combative.” In a police-edited video, Hall said Perez “was found to have a level of methamphetamine in his system that was 24 times the toxic level at the time of his death.”
An internal review cleared the officers of wrongdoing. The Office of Independent Review found their actions were within policy.
The case took nearly nine years to resolve. At one point, a federal judge dismissed the case under the doctrine of qualified immunity. The family fought through appeals in federal and state courts before the settlement was reached.
Approximately $6 million will come from the City of Fresno, $4 million from Fresno County, and an undisclosed amount from American Ambulance.
All three agencies declined to comment.
The Breakdown
- Joseph Perez died on May 10, 2017, after being restrained face down by Fresno police officers, sheriff’s deputies, and paramedics responding to a call that he was talking to himself.
- Body camera footage shows seven officers restraining Perez while handcuffed and face down, with one officer sitting on him for more than a minute. Perez said “I can’t breathe” before going silent.
- The coroner ruled his death a homicide caused by compressive asphyxia during restraint.
- The family filed a wrongful death and excessive force lawsuit in 2019 against the City of Fresno, Fresno County, American Ambulance, and individual officers.
- The $10 million settlement — split between the city, county, and ambulance company — is the largest pre-trial settlement in a Fresno County police misconduct case.
- Internal reviews cleared the officers of wrongdoing and found their actions within policy. The family’s attorney says those policies should be changed: “When you are apprehending somebody on the ground, you can’t do that with them face down. You have to turn them onto the side into a recovery position as soon as you can.”
What This Means for You
The Fresno City Council funds the police department, and the Fresno County Board of Supervisors funds the sheriff’s office. A $10 million payout comes from agencies overseen by those elected bodies.
The internal reviews cleared the officers and found their actions within policy. That means the restraint technique was officially acceptable under the policies in place. The settlement doesn’t change those policies.
The record: nearly nine years of litigation, a homicide ruling by the coroner, body camera footage showing what happened, and a $10 million settlement paid by the agencies rather than a trial.
What to Watch
The family’s attorney says the restraint policies themselves need to change — specifically, that officers can’t hold someone face down and must turn them onto their side as soon as possible. The settlement doesn’t require that change.
Internal reviews cleared the officers. Qualified immunity initially got the case dismissed. The agencies settled rather than go to trial.
