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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…
Attorneys Michael Haddad and Julia Sherwin joined forces in 1998 when they launched their firm in Oakland, CA. Married and in business for 23 years, their practice is focused on representing plaintiffs in cases involving police and jail misconduct and wrongful death. Read the full article from Super Lawyer to…
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…
On Tuesday, February 23, 2021, a grand jury refused to bring criminal charges against the Rochester, New York, police officers who killed Daniel Prude. Last March, Mr. Prude was in a psychiatric crisis, naked in the street outside his brother’s home. He had been visiting his brother from out of town,…
When George Floyd was being restrained by Minneapolis police, officer Thomas Lane said on video: “Roll him on his side?” “I just worry about the excited delirium or whatever.” Mr. Floyd died several minutes later of restraint asphyxia as a result of being improperly restrained face down with an officer’s…
By Julia Sherwin Law enforcement shootings of unarmed men of color are an epidemic in this country. And today, we address yet another one. On October 5, 2020, Napa County Sheriff’s Sergeant David Ackman pulled over Juan Garcia’s vehicle because Juan was driving with his headlights off, a minor vehicle…
We helped our two clients, the children of Humberto (“Beto”) Martinez, settle their claims for their father’s wrongful chokehold death for $7.3 million plus police reforms. This local case involved Pittsburg police officers’ use of a carotid hold and choke hold, and other highly injurious force, on video, while Beto…
San Jose Mercury News/Nate Gartell PITTSBURG — The city has agreed to pay $7.3 million to settle a lawsuit by the family of a man who was killed after an officer placed him in a carotid hold for 50 seconds, using a controversial technique that has since been widely banned…
OAKLAND, CA (September 10, 2020) — Civil rights law firm Haddad & Sherwin LLP announced today that they have filed the first claim against the State of California and the CDCR for the COVID-19 death of a San Quentin prisoner stemming from the botched transfer of 121 untested prisoners from…