Jury awards $51 million to family of Inland Empire man shot by deputies

A unanimous federal jury awarded over $51 million to the family of Antonio Garza, an Inland Empire resident who was shot and killed by San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies in 2023, CBS News Los Angeles reported.

The family filed a wrongful death lawsuit, stating Garza suffered from mental illness and that deputies chased him into the desert and shot him multiple times despite him committing no crime, according to CBS News Los Angeles.

The incident began on February 5, 2023, when deputies responded to an arson call. Garza was legally burning personal items on his property. Deputies pursued him for 35 minutes on the freeway, ending in Palm Springs, where Garza fled on foot before deputies fired, CBS News Los Angeles detailed.

Attorneys said Garza was shot 12 times, information revealed by a private autopsy. The case is noted as the largest police shooting verdict in California and possibly the third-highest in U.S. history, CBS News Los Angeles reported.

Garza's family hopes the verdict brings attention to mental illness issues. They also called on California Attorney General Rob Bonta to consider criminal charges against the deputies involved, according to CBS News Los Angeles.