Family Of Choke-Hold Victim Awarded $13.2 Million In Damages

ANAHEIM, CA — A federal jury has awarded $13.2 million in damages to the family of a 32-year-old man who died following a struggle with Anaheim police three years ago.

A federal jury in Los Angeles found Anaheim police used excessive force and violated the constitutional rights of Fermin Vincent Valenzuela Jr. when officers used a chokehold or "carotid restraint" to subdue him on July 2, 2016.

The plaintiffs argued the city failed to train its officers properly in the use of chokeholds to subdue a suspect. The officers involved in the arrest who were named in the complaint are Woojin Jun, Daniel Wolfe, and Daniel Gonzalez.

The lawsuit contended that Wolfe's method of restraint blocked the suspect's airway. The "air chokehold" maneuver that is only appropriate when deadly force is necessary, it was decided. The city's attorneys argued that it was a carotid restraint hold, restricting blood flow to the brain, but not the airway.

Valenzuela repeatedly said he couldn't breathe during his struggle with police, the family's attorneys said. Valenzuela died eight days after his battle with police from complications of asphyxia.

Mike Lyster, a spokesman for the City of Anaheim stated the city "respectfully disagrees" with the decision and that they "believe the judgment is unwarranted."

"Our officers responded to a family's call for help and took measured, reasonable actions in dealing with someone intent on resisting, fighting and getting away," Lyster said. "Our police have a duty to respond and engage, and their only other option would've been to walk away. That is not what the community expects of us when they call for help."

Lyster added that, "Any loss of life in our city is tragic, and we are the first to take a critical look at any encounter. We have done so and believe our officers acted in the best interest of public safety. We see a big disconnect in this result and what our officers and the community faced that day. Ultimately, this incident speaks to the devastating impacts of drugs on people, families and communities."

According to a ruling in the case handed down by U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney in June that denied the city's motion for summary judgment, Wolfe testified in a deposition that he "was not trained that the carotid restraint hold could cause injuries."

Wolfe also testified that he could not recall being trained on the anatomy of the neck, Carney ruled.

Jun, who held one of Valenzuela's arms down, testified that he didn't recall any training "about what to look for as a sign of airway obstruction during application of a neck hold," Carney wrote.

Gonzalez, who supervised the arrest of the suspect, testified that he didn't recall whether his training covered how to determine whether the carotid restraint was correctly applied, Carney ruled.

In September of 2017, the Orange County District Attorney's Office cleared the officers of wrongdoing in the arrest.

Police responded about 9:15 a.m., July 2, 2016, to a report of Valenzuela following a caller's mother to her home and pacing in front of the residence at Broadway and Magnolia Avenue.

Valenzuela ducked into Coin Laundry on the 200 block of S. Magnolia Ave. when he saw officers.

He was shoving clothes from a duffel bag into a laundry machine as the officers questioned him.

When the officers heard breaking glass and saw blood, they suspected Valenzuela smashed a drug pipe, prosecutors said.

The protracted struggle with officers ensued as they attempted to take him down with a Taser, baton strikes, and carotid techniques. Valenzuela wriggled free at some point, leading police on a foot chase.

Prosecutors noted Valenzuela was 60 pounds heavier than Jun and Wolfe, and they suspected he was high on methamphetamine.

The officers caught up to him, but Wolfe and Jun were exhausted by the time Gonzalez arrived on scene to supervise, prosecutors said.

Valenzuela was choked for about 15 to 20 seconds before snoring. Attempts to revive him at the scene were unsuccessful, and he never regained consciousness, prosecutors said.

He had amphetamine, methamphetamine, and cannabinoids in his system, according to prosecutors.

He also had a lengthy criminal history of drug-related charges, resisting arrest, willful cruelty to a child, domestic violence, burglary, theft, identity theft, driving under the influence of drugs, and probation violations.

City News Service, Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.