Justice has prevailed in another case of an unjustified police shooting. Civil rights firm Haddad & Sherwin LLP have won a settlement of $7 million for their client, the mother of Daniel Shaham (31), against the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and then-Officer Paul Shadwell. This remains one of the largest…
Today, civil rights law firm Haddad & Sherwin LLP released the results of the second, independent autopsy it obtained on Mario Gonzalez. The second autopsy, performed by noted forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet I. Omalu, confirms that rather than methamphetamine toxicity, Mario Gonzalez’s cause of death was restraint asphyxiation. In April…
The three Alameda, California, police officers responsible for killing Mario Gonzalez after they pinned him face down on the ground for over five minutes will not be charged criminally for his homicide. According to a report released by the Alameda County District Attorney’s office, the officers were “lawful and objectively…
Just one week after the Alameda County Coroner’s office declared Mario Gonzalez’s death a homicide, renowned California civil rights lawyers Haddad & Sherwin have filed a federal wrongful death suit against the City of Alameda, California, and the involved police officers. The suit was filed on behalf of the murdered…
As of January 1, 2022, for the first time in California history, people will be able to bring claims under California law against police and custodial officers for malicious prosecution or for injuries to prisoners. Changes to the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act (Civ. Code, § 52.1) will remove immunities…
The Mercury News / Julia Prodis Sulek SAN JOSE — The family of the San Quentin prison guard who died last summer from COVID-19 after a botched transfer of infected inmates from another prison filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Tuesday against state prison officials, blaming them for a “culture…
OAKLAND, CA (August 24, 2021) — Civil rights law firm Haddad & Sherwin LLP announced today that it has filed a federal court lawsuit against high level administrators of the State of California and the CDCR for the COVID-19 death of San Quentin Sergeant Gilbert Polanco stemming from the botched…
One day before a jury found a Minneapolis police officer guilty of murdering George Floyd, Mario Arenales Gonzalez was killed by Alameda, California police who restrained him in a prone position with weight on him. As the police officers’ body cam videos were released, many can’t help but notice the…
Qualified immunity protects police officers from lawsuits, making it nearly impossible for individual citizens to sue public officials unless they can prove they violated a “clearly established law”. That’s where the lines begin to blur. Reform or abolishing qualified immunity must happen to hold police accountable for their actions when…
May 10, 2021 Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530-0001 Pamela S. Karlan Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Office of the Assistant Attorney General, Main Washington, D.C. 20530 Re: Death of Mario Gonzalez…