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California's Kern County settles $3.4m civil lawsuit in death of David Silva
Source: The Guardian
California's Kern County settles $3.4m civil lawsuit in death of David Silva
Lawyers continue to criticise investigation into 33-year-old’s asphyxiation
death in 2013 as no police officers involved ever faced criminal charges
Oliver Laughland and Jon Swaine in New York
Thursday 5 May 2016 21.29 BST
The family of a 33-year-old man who died after a violent beating at the hands of police in Kern County, California, have settled a civil lawsuit with the county for $3.4m.
David Silva died from asphyxiation in May 2013 during an encounter with seven Kern County sheriff’s deputies and two California highway patrol officers in which he was beaten with batons, bitten in the face by a police dog, placed in a series of control holds, and compressed, chest down against the pavement for up to 10 minutes while his body was hogtied. Silva was unarmed and had been asleep on the sidewalk opposite a medical centre in Bakersfield, reportedly intoxicated, before police arrived and tried to remove him.
None of the officers involved in the incident faced criminal charges, after the county’s district attorney ruled police used reasonable force during the arrest. The Kern County coroner’s office, which is part of the sheriff’s department, ruled the death was accidental, caused primarily by Silva’s heart disease, alcoholism and obesity.
At a press conference on Thursday, Neil Gehlawat, an attorney representing Silva’s mother, brother and four children, criticised the official investigations into the incident.
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Lawyers continue to criticise investigation into 33-year-old’s asphyxiation
death in 2013 as no police officers involved ever faced criminal charges
Oliver Laughland and Jon Swaine in New York
Thursday 5 May 2016 21.29 BST
The family of a 33-year-old man who died after a violent beating at the hands of police in Kern County, California, have settled a civil lawsuit with the county for $3.4m.
David Silva died from asphyxiation in May 2013 during an encounter with seven Kern County sheriff’s deputies and two California highway patrol officers in which he was beaten with batons, bitten in the face by a police dog, placed in a series of control holds, and compressed, chest down against the pavement for up to 10 minutes while his body was hogtied. Silva was unarmed and had been asleep on the sidewalk opposite a medical centre in Bakersfield, reportedly intoxicated, before police arrived and tried to remove him.
None of the officers involved in the incident faced criminal charges, after the county’s district attorney ruled police used reasonable force during the arrest. The Kern County coroner’s office, which is part of the sheriff’s department, ruled the death was accidental, caused primarily by Silva’s heart disease, alcoholism and obesity.
At a press conference on Thursday, Neil Gehlawat, an attorney representing Silva’s mother, brother and four children, criticised the official investigations into the incident.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/05/david-silva-police-lawsuit-settlement-kern-county-california
