Paralyzed man tentatively settles lawsuit over LASD shooting

A man who sued Los Angeles County and two sheriff’s deputies, alleging he was left paralyzed after being shot by a deputy in 2021 at his Cudahy home, has reached a tentative settlement in his lawsuit.

On Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Thomas Long was notified in court papers filed by plaintiff Isaias Cervantes’ attorneys stating that a “conditional” resolution of the case was reached and that a request for dismissal will be filed by May 22. The court papers did not state the proposed settlement terms or if the accord is subject to approval by the county’s Board of Supervisors.

Cervantes’ suit was filed in August 2021, alleging assault, battery, negligence, civil rights violations and other causes of action. The deputies named as defendants along with the county are David Vega and Jonathan Miramontes.

“Isaias Cervantes has lived a life riddled with mental disabilities,” his lawyers stated in previous court papers.

Cervantes’ mother, Rosa Padilla, is his court-appointed conservator. Born 29 months prematurely, Cervantes was diagnosed at age 3 with hearing impairment and a year later was found to have a speech impairment, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety and other intellectual disabilities, according to his lawyers’ court papers.

The plaintiff’s attorneys further stated that their client has cerebral palsy. Cervantes was left paralyzed when he was shot at age 25 and bullet fragments remain imbedded in his back, the suit stated. He is unable to control his bowels or urine, according to the suit.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department previously reported that deputies were called at about 8:40 p.m. on March 31, 2021, to a home in the 5100 block of Live Oak Street after a caller said Cervantes was experiencing a mental health crisis and causing a disturbance by pushing other family members. The caller also told a dispatcher that Cervantes had obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, anxiety and was hard of hearing, deputies said.

Two deputies approached the home and asked Cervantes to come outside with them, but when he declined, they entered the home and attempted to detain him with handcuffs, according to the department. An LASD video then shows Cervantes fighting with the deputies with both body cameras falling to the floor.

One of the deputies can be heard in the video saying, “He’s going for my gun, he’s going for my gun,” and the other deputy can then be heard asking, “Does he have your gun?”

The first deputy did not answer and one shot is heard being fired. According to the lawsuit, Cervantes’ sister was the one who called 911 and she “plainly and specifically requested mental health support” for her sibling after telling the dispatcher her brother was deaf and disabled.

Vega and Miramontes were met on the sidewalk outside the home by Padilla and Cervantes’ therapist, the suit stated. After Cervantes’ mother told the deputies that her son was afraid of LASD deputies because he believed they often harm people and he feared they would harm him, Vega’s demeanor became “noticeably more aggressive,” the suit stated.

The deputies entered the home, went into the living room, flanked Cervantes and told him to stand up, the suit stated. They began handcuffing him, causing him to turn away, the suit stated.

Miramontes grabbed Cervantes around the neck and pushed him to the floor, causing Cervantes to lose his hearing aid, according to the suit, which also accuses Miramontes of falsely saying that Cervantes was trying to get the deputy’s gun.

The deputy’s holster has a dual safety lock system that prevents the gun from being removed by anyone in the position Cervantes found himself, the suit stated. Nonetheless, Vega, “encouraged” by Miramontes, drew his gun, pressed it against Cervantes’ back and fired, causing a bullet to tear through Cervantes’ lungs and spine, the suit stated.

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