The Orange County Register reports a jury reached a verdict in a retrial concerning AND SUSTAINED allegations of excessive force in the police involved shooting of Manuel Diaz.
Read more on the case here. We will update as information becomes available.
A reminder, the trial is a civil matter. The court has yet to determine a level of restitution or any required reform as part of a settlement.
The jury’s decision will not impact any criminal findings, which are the responsibility of the county district attorney. Any ongoing investigations, including federal civil rights violations, are not known.
The decision will also not impact Anaheim Police Department discipline or duty responsibilities.
Of note from The Register’s coverage is a response from the City Attorney, which implies no discipline of any kind is merited in spite of a verdict sustaining a finding of excessive force.
“We acknowledge the jury’s decision and thank jurors for their time and consideration,” said Mike Lyster, the city of Anaheim’s spokesman, in a statement released following the civil verdict. “This case shows the difficulty and complexity of situations our police face, and we believe they acted reasonably.”
Thats the second jury finding of excessive force in OC in as many days. A Sherrifs deputy’s was also found guilty of excessive force when he stomped on the head of a dead suspect. In the OC juries have been loathe to find officers in the wrong.
Thanks for getting this up here so quickly, Ryan. We’re obviously the only local political blog that cares about justice for victims of police violence. (Along with the Weekly.)
Today we learned the amount the jury awarded Genevieve – a disappointing $200K (compared to the 11 million she was asking for.) Will that have the same effect on Anaheim Council & APD’s attitude toward excessive force? Probably not.
But still the excessive force verdict is a huge deal, in the OC. They couldn’t even get that for Kelly Thomas. A sign of changing attitudes hopefully. I will write a piece about this over the weekend after I can talk to Genevieve.