San Diego County, California Settles 2022 El Cajon Deputy Shooting Lawsuit for $2.9 Million in Lifetime Structured Payments
San Diego County, California: The County of San Diego has agreed to pay $2.9 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit over the 2022 deputy shooting of Erik Talavera in El Cajon, plaintiff law firm McKenzie Scott PC announced on October 27. Talavera survived after two San Diego County Sheriff's deputies shot him while he was complying with their commands, according to the firm.
The case, Talavera v. County of San Diego, Case No. 3:23-cv-2162-TWR-SBC, was settled on September 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, less than two weeks before a jury trial was set to begin. On February 16, 2022, deputies David Lovejoy and Jonathan Young responded to an El Cajon cul-de-sac during a regional auto-theft task force operation and ordered Talavera to the ground at gunpoint.
Talavera's attorneys say expert analysis showed the deputies shot him repeatedly while he was facing away and going to the ground, and that he was setting a pocketknife on the ground when they opened fire; the deputies later said they mistakenly believed he might have had a gun, though neither mentioned a gun that night. The lawsuit alleged Fourth Amendment excessive force and violations of California's Bane Act. The firm's announcement did not include a response from the county.
Much of the recovery is structured as monthly payments guaranteed for the rest of Talavera's life to support his ongoing medical care and living expenses, the firm said.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：圣迭戈县警长办公室的巡逻车（资料图）。来源：Wikimedia Commons / Photo: A San Diego County Sheriff's Department patrol vehicle (file photo). Source: Wikimedia Commons
