A federal court jury has awarded $13.1 million to the parents of a mentally ill man who was fatally shot in the back after stabbing a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy with a screwdriver.
The award is believed to be the largest excessive force verdict in county history.
Although Jeffrey Monroy stabbed Cpl. Ruben Perez in the head and neck, jurors decided that the deputy was not in imminent danger when he shot Monroy, who was 20 feet away.
“The jury decided you just can’t shoot somebody while they’re fleeing,” said attorney Houman Sayaghi, representing David and Longina Monroy. “He did not pose a threat of imminent harm.”
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
According to the lawsuit, filed in 2021, Jeffrey Monroy worked with his father’s pool service and was helping repair a pool in Rancho Mirage in August 2020. Monroy, who had a history of mental illness, became “impatient” and wanted to leave. He began walking in the 70800 block of Tamarisk Lane, asking people if he could borrow their phones to call his brother for a ride home.
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