A California jury has awarded $9 million to the family of a woman fatally shot seven times by police in Long Beach in 2017 in what the family's attorneys say is the largest such award in city history.
The federal jury reached the verdict in favor of 37-year-old Sinuon Pream's parents and her four children on Friday. Pream was shot by Long Beach Officers Bradley Muhlenkamp and Elieser Domingo on Jan. 15, 2017, after she refused repeated orders to drop a knife.
At the time, Long Beach police said Pream had tried to cut and stab several civilians with the knife, swung it at officers and advanced on them. They said both Muhlenkamp and Domingo used their stun guns on Pream to no effect before they shot her.
Pream's family said she suffered from mental illness and that officers should have done more to de-escalate the situation.
"She needed help, not bullets," said Rodney Diggs, one of the Pream family's attorneys. "The family is pretty torn up because their mother and their daughter suffered from a sickness that wasn't her fault."
Diggs also pointed to an autopsy report that showed that three of Pream's bullet wounds were to her back.
Howard Russell, the lead attorney for Long Beach, said in a statement that he's reviewing the city's options, which include appealing the jury's verdict.
The city had argued that the officers' use of force was reasonable under the circumstances and that they fired on Pream because they perceived an immediate threat.
"There is no evidence that either officer acted with an improper motive or with any other purpose than the legitimate law enforcement objective of taking Pream into custody while defending themselves and the public," according to a court document filed by the city's attorneys.
Jurors rejected that argument, finding that the shooting "shocked the conscience."
"We hope that this verdict will save lives and change the way that the officers in the Long Beach Police Department and other police departments respond to people that are suffering from mental illnesses," attorney Brian Dunn, who also represents Pream's family, said in a statement.
Spokespeople for the city and the police department did not respond to an email message seeking comment.
Pream's family said in a statement that they were grateful to the jury "for believing our story and understanding our family's perspective."
"Receiving this verdict makes us feel like we have finally received justice," her family said. "We hope Sinuon's soul can finally rest in peace."
AMANDA LEE MYERS Associated Press
