Jury awards $51 million to family of Inland Empire man shot and killed by deputies in 2023

A unanimous federal jury has awarded the family of Inland Empire resident Antonio Garza over $51 million for the deputy-shooting death of the man in 2023.

The family sued the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department for wrongful death, claiming Garza suffered from mental illness, saying the deputies chased him into the desert and shot him multiple times after he had committed no crime.

"They didn't de-escalate. They didn't try to create space. They didn't try to just speak to him and say, 'We're to help you. What's going on, man?' They chased him, and they gunned him down," Attorney Rebecca Brown said at Friday's news conference.

The deadly incident began on February 5, 2023, with Sheriff's deputies responding to an arson call. Attorneys said Garza was legally burning personal items on his own property when deputies arrived. He fled from the deputies when they showed up to investigate.

Deputies then pursued Garza for 35 minutes on the freeway, ending in Palm Springs when he attempted to drive off the freeway and his vehicle became disabled, according to the sheriff's department.

Garza fled on foot, and the deputies chased him for two minutes before opening fire, attorneys said.

"In total, Mr. Garza was shot 12 times. We only know that because we had a private autopsy of Mr. Garza done that revealed the truth of what happened that day," Brown said.  

Attorneys called it a record-breaking case, the largest police shooting verdict in California, and it is believed to be the third-highest in American history. 

"Our hope is that yesterday's verdict will bring the often overlooked issues of mental illness to the forefront," Garza's sister Victoria Vesasquez said. She also called on Attorney General Rob Bonta to pursue criminal charges against the two deputies involved in the case.