By Sean Emery | semery@scng.com and Joe Nelson | jnelson@scng.com | Orange County Register
Published: March 14, 2018 at 6:13 pm | Updated: March 14, 2018 at 7:07 pm
Jurors in a federal civil rights trial have awarded $33.5 million to the family of a man who was shot and killed by a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy during a 2015 encounter at the El Rancho Motel in Barstow.
The eight-member jury deliberated for around two hours before unanimously awarding the parents of Nathaniel Harris Pickett Jr. $15.5 million in compensatory damages and $18 million in punitive damages, said Dale Galipo, a veteran civil rights attorney from Woodland Hills who represented the family during the trial.
“It’s the jury’s way of saying they will not tolerate the continued police shootings of unarmed people. The message it sends is that unjustified shootings will not be tolerated,” Galipo said.
He said he thought the jury’s monetary award might be the largest in the country involving a police shooting, and certainly the largest he has received from a jury in the 15 years he has been trying excessive use of force and wrongful death cases involving police.
“I need to step back and pinch myself. It’s almost unbelievable,” Galipo said.
San Bernardino County spokesman David Wert referred comment to the Sheriff’s Department.
“We strongly disagree with the outcome based on the evidence in this case,” sheriff’s Lt. Sarkis Ohannessian said in a statement. “Our attorneys, the department and the county, will be discussing appealing the jury’s award.”
The federal lawsuit accused Deputy Kyle Woods of shooting an unarmed, mentally ill Pickett after a foot chase that began shortly after 9 p.m. on Nov. 19, 2015. Pickett had fallen down, the lawsuit alleged, and was on the ground, scooting back when the deputy shot him in the chest.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office concluded that the shooting was justified.
County prosecutors wrote in a report released in November 2016 that Woods believed Pickett was under the influence of a controlled substance and that Pickett had resisted arrest and punched the deputy, fracturing his nasal bone and knocking his head on cement.
The DA’s report indicated that Pickett attempted to grab Woods’ gun, causing the deputy to feel he was in a “life or death struggle with Pickett.”
Attorney’s for the Pickett family disputed the DA’s findings, and accused the deputy of changing his story multiple times.
To read expanded article, click here.
Good lord!
15 Million! Could have gone a long way with pay raises. Now I’m hearing big sex scandal at West Valley Detention Center. Couple of SGT’S having sex on duty with a civilian employee in a storage room. WTF! Wonder how much this will cost??
Go John McMahon for Sheriff. Just a matter of time before retired people start paying for stupid.
@2. Well, at least it wasn’t a prisoner this time…LOL
#4 LMAO you’re right.
#2 Waiting for this (WVDC) story to hit local news.
@ 6. I also heard about WVDC SGT’S. Not sure if it will hit press. Easy to quote ” Can’t talk about it” POBAR etc….Pretty brazen to have SGT’s think that having sex at the jail during work time is a good idea. They must feel that the risk of getting caught is slim and if they do get caught it’s not going to be a big deal with McMahon and crew. Department does a good job keeping these things under wraps for most part. My source is close and I believe what I was told. Lot of other things going on as well that the general public would be shocked was happening in department.
McMahon has been hitting the speaking circles up in the High Desert recently. Blaming AB 109 and prop 47 for all the problems with crime and press it receives. What public does not see is the lousy pay and hard time department has keeping good people. Just look at some of the command positions filled lately Dire times ahead for SBSD.
Gee looky here. The jury discovered a liar in this.
Avatar
bobconaway
2 hours ago
Interesting to see the reactions. I was there. In fact I represented the dad. I watched the County fabricate a story (20 meetings with the sheriff deputy before he testified) and in my view suppress the evidence and (as the jury result shows) get caught. 2 of the county’s witnesses had a come to Jesus moment in their cross examination (facts lost in the media) that made the officer a liar in the jury’s eyes and after that, the county’s police practices expert called the conduct exemplary (even through the expert in 40 years on the LAPD had NEVER shot anyone with his weapon). Judge after the verdict came in asked the officer what the deputy’s new assignment was–he is now a weapons instructor at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Acadamy – hope he’s not teaching them how to do what he did (and said).
People need to wake up. McMahon is not fit to run the Sheriff’s Dept. Look at all the payouts due to lawsuits since he has been running things.
Attorney Dale Galipo is killing the regime one case at a time.
You have this case with a huge award and the gangbanger who got $6 million in the 11th hour of a Federal trial.
I believe he handled two other Officer involved shooting cases in this county that settled long before trial for around $3 million.
So he has collected about $45 million for his clients and that’s ballpark because I bet its higher.
What common denominator that should be clear? Mike Ramos and John McMahon.
Second denominator is lying and fabricating evidence.
Yeah I say the Colonies Plaintiffs should go to trial.
It’s should be obvious that much of this award was due to lying and cover up after the fact.
It sure would be nice to read the trial transcripts of those cross examined by Galipo.
The not so good patterns and practices of San Bernardino County Law Enforcement seems to be written in stone at this time.
I believe he smoked a second dude within a few months of this guy. So rather than deal with him, they put him at the training center? Wtf
#10, jury deliberated about 2 hours. #11, Yep, January 2018? Victim lived.
The jury was never told of second shooting. Believed to be one of the largest awards in history according to a law professor at UCLA.
@12 good info.
Jury not told of second shooting? Too predjudicial to the case before the court??
Jury out just 2 hours? That’s indicative of a smoking good case for the plaintiff.
Hmm wonder if the law firm defending the County told the BOS “we can win this”.
Just write another check for $500k.
BOS is going to use this against Department when SEBA enters into negotiations for much needed pay raises. Don’t expect any help from McMahon. He won’t stand up for deputy raises. He won’t stand up to BOS.
@14 a valid point.
But if SEBA had nads they would be raising hell about Josie Gonzales lying twice in the Colonies case and she still has a job and not a word of her misconduct mentioned officially outside the courtroom.
We won’t talk about the two DA investigators who stepped all over it in the Colonies case.
Then I guess SEBA could hold the BOS responsible for allowing County Council to try and recover the $102 million pay out through litigation using one legal theory and allow the District Attorney to prosecute on another.
End result defendants acquitted and charges dropped.
Damage claims exceeding $100 million at this time.
Jury Award could easily exceed $500 million.
There was a method to Sheriff McMahon madness promoting 3 Sergeants who now sit on the SEBA Board.
SEBAs in a deeper hole today than they were 3 years ago.
Of course SEBA did support the Colonies prosecution so I guess crickets will remain.
Just get some more popcorn and watch stupid come out front and center again.
If you expand this article you can read it directly from the newspaper source. There is additional information to include details of the second shooting.
This link to the DA page has a download link for the DA report, and a link to a video showing the shooting via CCTV:
http://www.sbcountyda.org/Newsroom/PressReleases/2016/DAFindsFatalOISinBarstowJustified.aspx
@15. A reliable source within SEBA is confirming your favorite wet dream. It appears a whistleblower is about to go public with evidence showing SBSD has allowed cheating on promotional exams for decades. Cheating for financial gain; sounds criminal. My source didn’t say if the whistleblower was someone high up or not but it does sound like another POST like scandal. I can’t wait till this hits the media. Have you heard anything?
@17 no I haven’t. I’ll wait right here for it to come out.
Cheating at SBSD??? A real schocker LOL!
@16 I watched the video. Not good depending on your perspective then having a jury believe you’re lying and have the final say on your fate.
Not sure if the second person who appears in the video is a cop but what a USELESS tool they turn out to be.
Maybe they are a lateral from Coward County Florida?
Thanks for the link.
I was glad to read that SBSD lost in Federal court and the county will have to pay millions. The Department is corrupt and you just have to look at the corrupt executive staff clowns. I know of one deputy chief that should have been fired and prosecuted for murder when he was a sergeant. He shot and killed a teenage boy that was in a reported stolen vehicle and alleged that that teenager tried to run him over in the driveway. The DA’s office cleared him but the county paid big dollars to the family in the wrongful death lawsuit.
Attorney Dale Galipo has made millions suing SBSD and it will be his cash cow for life. Keep up the excellent work Mr. Galipo.