$1.7 million settlement paid to family of man who died in Elk Grove Police custody

The city of Elk Grove has agreed to pay $1.7 million to the family of a man who died in Elk Grove Police custody. The settlement ends a federal civil suit against the city and six named Elk Grove Police officers.

The lawsuit came after Daniel Landeros was in Elk Grove Police custody after being arrested on November 30, 2016. Landeros was arrested and taken into custody after driving erratically and crashing his vehicle into another.    

While the Sacramento District Attorney's office cleared the six Elk Grove Police officers - Jeremy Banks, Daniel Coleman, Steve Holstad, Justine Parker, and Samuel Schafter - of wrongdoing in July 2017, the Landeros family filed a lawsuit in the US District Court in Sacramento alleging civil rights violations against Mr. Landeros. 

Initially, a jury trial in federal court found the city and officers not guilty. Upon appeal, however, the Ninth Circuit Court ordered a new trial in May 2024. 

As noted in one of the plaintiff's appellate pleadings, a police body camera video showed Landeros's "pleas to the officers that 'I can't breathe' and 'you're frickin killing me' were to no avail." Additionally, the plaintiff's brief claims "for more than three minutes forced 'chest down' on pavement by four officers collectively weighing 900 pounds."

The appellate ruling noted that the city's expert witness, Dr. Jason Tovar, M.D., had a conflict of interest. In addition to being employed by the Sacramento County coroner's office, Dr. Tovar was a paid expert witness for the defense. Dr. Tovar has reportedly left the Sacramento County coroner's office. 

The plaintiff's brief said, "In fact, Dr. Tovar was using his position as the County's chief medical examiner to run what the district court rightly called a "side hustle," whereby he would offer expert testimony as a putatively disinterested public servant with the patina of independence and impartiality — all the while being personally compensated by one of the parties in exchange for favorable testimony."

Before the second trial, the city settled the matter for $1.7 million. 

The city's lead counsel was noted Santa Ana-based attorney Bruce Praet, who specializes in defending police civil matters. The Bay Area investigative group Reveal dedicated one of its programs, We Regret to Inform You, to Praet and the practices used to train police departments.

The settlement agreement noted, "Plaintiffs further agree to dismiss with prejudice any and all pending or future motions for Rule 11 or other Sanctions."