Riverside, CA, April 29, 2009:   

 

Late Tuesday afternoon, a Riverside Superior Court jury found that Sheriff Deputies employed by the County of Riverside used excessive force against a Moreno Valley family resulting in his death.  After a two week trial and several days of deliberations, a jury of 4 women and 8 men rendered a gross verdict in favor of the decedent’s two young children and family totaling $5.5M.  (also reported in the California Daily Journal on June 12, 2009)

It was alleged at time of trial that on October 30, 2003, while lawfully visiting at his parents home, Arthur Lee Lewis, Jr. sustained fatal injuries as a direct result of the wrongful conduct of Moreno Valley Police Officers who are contracted and employed by the County of Riverside.  At the time of his death, Arthur, Jr., was 33 years old and survived by his parents, Arthur Lewis, Sr. and Jesse Lewis and minor children, Arthur Lewis, III and Nathaniel Cameron Lewis.

 

“This was a tragic, unnecessary and completely avoidable death.  It should have never happened” according to Mitch Jackson of Jackson & Wilson, Inc., the Lewis family trial attorney.  “This family reached out and called for help.  Instead of getting the help they needed, their son was assaulted by a group of deputies.  In our opinion, the jury didn’t believe much of the officers’ conflicting testimony and the jury made the right decision in this case.”

Arthur, Jr., was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and worked in the pharmaceutical industry and employed by Unilab for 4 years as a phlebotomist prior to death.  He attended Moreno Valley High school, was a loving son and father, and was an active member of the Loveland Church.

Because of a pre-existing medical condition, several times each year Mr. Lewis would experience various medical issues resulting in him not eating, communicating or otherwise functioning properly.  His parents, Arthur and Jesse Lewis picked Arthur Jr. up at his house and brought him back to their home to take care of him and get him back on his feet.  After several days Arthur Jr. was not getting better and at about 9:15 p.m. that evening, the Lewis’ called 911 to request assistance to help get her son to the hospital for medical care.

In response to the call for help, several Moreno Valley Police Officers arrive at the Lewis home.  According to the Lewis family, rather than helping get their son to the hospital, the officers instead used pepper spray on their son and without provocation, unnecessarily attacked their son and attempted to physically restrain him.

 

One officer attempted a carotid restraint (blood choke) on Arthur, Jr., lasting between 20-30 seconds.  Arthur was then  slammed face down on to the floor, handcuffed and “hogtied”.  Despite Mrs. Lewis begging the officers to get off of her son, the deputies placed their knees on the back of his neck and lower back.  According to the Lewis’ trial testimony, the deputies told them that, “we know what we’re doing, we do this all the time.”  At this time, the Lewis’ testified that they heard their son make a gurgle type of noise and then go limp.

 

During this time, another deputy unnecessarily came in to the house with his police dog and pulled it up on its leash and hind legs and forced Mr. Lewis down hall and Mrs. Lewis into the kitchen of their own home.  The remaining officers then picked up Arthur, Jr., and carried him outside onto the front lawn of the Lewis home where immediately thereafter, the deputies discovered that Arthur, Jr., was dead.

As a result of the trial, the jury found that each of the minor children of Arthur Jr., should be awarded $2M reduced to $1.6M based upon a finding that Arthur, Jr., was 20% comparatively at fault.  The family disagrees with the comparative negligence finding but is glad to finally have some level of closure in this matter.  The jury furthermore found that Mr. & Mrs. Lewis were each entitled to $750K for the emotional distress of being forced to watch the events concerning their son in their living room that night.

According to Mr. Jackson, “while the amount of money awarded will never come close to compensating this family for their loss, it will help provide the children with funds for their college educations and lifelong needs.  Hopefully it will also serve notice to local officials and police agencies that they must follow the rules and treat our citizens with respect.  Arthur was a wonderful person and will be missed by everyone…especially his loving family”.

 

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