San Diego County and other defendants have agreed to pay $1.35 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the mother of a Mexican citizen who died after sheriff’s deputies arrested him in 2018, officials said.
The lawsuit filed by Dolores Rosales, of Tijuana, alleged deputies used excessive force when they took her son, Marco Antonio Nápoles-Rosales of El Monte, into custody in August 2018, officials said.
The court filing claimed the deputies used a stun gun, their body weight and a wrap-around restraint device to subdue Nápoles-Rosales, who was suspected of trespassing at a gas station in Fallbrook.
Deputies were called when Rosales refused to leave a Circle K near State Route 76 and Interstate 15 when asked, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said.
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Rosales told deputies his car had broken down and he was waiting for a ride. After helping Rosales make multiple phone calls, a deputy instructed Rosales to leave the property but he refused.
Rosales was taken into custody for trespassing, but not without confrontation.
“What did I say? Are you not understanding what I’m telling you? Take your backpack off, take it off! What did I tell you? Take your hands behind your back and stop!” a deputy could be heard yelling.
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The video appears to show Rosales being struck with a stun gun six times before he was placed in a body wrap restraint. Rosales can be heard screaming for help.
He lost consciousness during the arrest and was taken to a hospital, where he died the next day, according to the District Attorney's office.
Carlos González Gutiérrez, Mexican consul general in San Diego, said Friday that Nápoles-Rosales’ mother and the consulate felt satisfied with the settlement and pleased that the lawsuit brought the circumstances of his death to the public’s attention.
“May this case remind us all that the excessive use of force is not acceptable under any circumstances,” González Gutiérrez said.
San Diego County spokesperson Michael Workman referred a request for comment to the chair of the Board of Supervisors, Nathan Fletcher.
An autopsy determined Nápoles-Rosales died of sudden cardiopulmonary arrest caused by methamphetamine intoxication and exertion during the struggle with deputies. The manner of death was undetermined. A toxicology screen found methamphetamine and amphetamines in his blood when he died.
After reviewing Nápoles-Rosales’ death, prosecutors decided no criminal charges would be filed against the deputies who used force against him.
