Council OKs $450,000 death settlement
The Phoenix City Council has approved a $450,000 payment to the family of a 26-year-old man who died in police custody during a DUI investigation on Christmas Day in 2014.
Edgardo Figueroa died after Phoenix police arrested him on suspicion of DUI. The payout would benefit Figueroa’s widow and his two children.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Figueroa’s death was an accidental death by acute alcohol poisoning; Figueroa’s blood-alcohol content was .29 percent at the time of the autopsy.
But the family had disputed the medical examiner’s ruling and hired an independent doctor to conduct a separate autopsy.
Claims of negligence
Dr. Philip Keen said Figueroa’s was a respiratory death caused by a head trauma, “positional asphyxiation,” or a combination of the two.
In April 2015, the family filed a $7 mil-
lion notice of claim, a precursor to a lawsuit. It named officers Seth Castillo, Raymond Reed, Derrick Minton and the city as defendants.
“At this time, it is our unequivocal contention that the death of this 26year-old man was the direct result of the negligence of the Phoenix Police Department and/or its employees,” the claim stated.
A Phoenix police spokesman declined to comment on the settlement.
How police said it happened
According to a police report, officers said that when Figueroa entered an officer’s patrol vehicle, he at first sat on the rear seat but then slid down to the floorboard. The report says Figueroa “lay on the floorboard on his right side, nose and mouth unobstructed.”
On the way to a police station, officers asked if he was OK, the report stated. Figueroa responded affirmatively the first time and with a grunt the second.
By the time police removed him from the vehicle, Figueroa had become unresponsive, according to the report. His lips were blue and there was a clear fluid coming out of his mouth.
Police said they immediately removed the handcuffs and began CPR until fire officials arrived, the report said.