Suing Phoenix police? Don't expect a big payout

This month, the family of Balantine Mbegbu filed an $8 million wrongful-death notice of claim alleging Phoenix police used excessive force including using a stun gun and a choke hold and smashing Mbegbu's head on the ground.

On its heels came a $7 million claim for Edgardo Figueroa, a Phoenix man who lost consciousness in a patrol car minutes after a DUI arrest and was pronounced dead hours later.

Police deny wrongdoing in both cases.

Such initial, big-ticket settlement offers by plaintiffs are common for notices of claim, which act as precursors to lawsuits. But history shows the sticker shock usually has little bite on Phoenix's funds.

An Arizona Republic analysis of the 1,675 claims filed against Phoenix police shows the city paid out a total of $17.2 million from September 2009 to September 2014 — $1.2 million for property-damage payouts and $16 million in bodily-injury payouts, according to city records.

Fifty-eight percent of the closed cases against Phoenix police received no payout, according to city records. Cases may be closed for several reasons, according to a risk-management official, including no response from the family or a finding of no fault by an officer. Cases may be reopened during litigation.

While many of the claims Phoenix faces seem comparatively innocuous — failure to yield and rear-ending are popular accusations — data show allegations with more violent undertones fare no better financially.

Of 226 claims of excessive force, 207 of the closed cases received no payment.

The 19 victors received between $750 and $750,000, with an average payout of $58,000.

Of 58 shooting claims, four received bodily-injury pay and three received money for property damage. The rest of the closed shooting cases, according to records, were awarded nothing.

Deaths may fall under several categories, and the data do not specify which claims stemmed from a fatality.

Justin Proctor and Cody Gene Criner, in separate cases, were both fatally shot after they allegedly pointed guns at Phoenix officers. Their families' claims closed without an award, though Criner's family is currently fighting the case in federal court.

The claimant with the largest shooting payout during this time period was Anthony Arambula, who took six bullets before a Phoenix police officer realized Arambula was the homeowner, not the intruder. Arambula initially sought $5.75 million in damages and was later awarded $1.75 million, according to city records. The case had gone to federal court before the parties reached a settlement.

The largest excessive-force claim awarded was $750,000 to the family of Doris Watson, who died after an altercation with police. Watson's daughter originally asked for $5.5 million in damages.

One claim that failed to land a city settlement came from the family of Danny Rodriguez, who was fatally shot by then-Phoenix police Officer Richard Chrisman in October 2010.

The case was the last time an officer in Maricopa County has been criminally charged in a shooting. Rodriguez's mother filed a $30 million notice of claim, according to news reports at the time.

Chrisman was convicted of aggravated assaulted and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He was sentenced to seven years in prison, but any financial justice will be delayed for Rodriguez's family, if it comes at all.

Legally, a city cannot be sued for the actions of its employees, and must have a "deliberate policy" behind the constitutional violation to be held responsible. A federal judge dismissed Phoenix from the case. The judge later awarded Rodriguez's family $8.5 million to come directly from Chrisman, an essentially meaningless ruling since Chrisman is in prison, said Michael Manning, an attorney for Rodriguez's father.

Manning said attorneys are appealing Phoenix's dismissal from the case.

"The injustice they suffer in a death is unbearable in and of itself," Manning said of families who receive no compensation for a wrongful-death claim. "But then to be told that there's no compensation for the loss, is really devastating."

David Urbinato, a Phoenix public-information officer, said there is no uniform policy for responding to notices of claim, and the city's legal department handles each case individually.

Albert Flores, an attorney for Figueroa's family, said he was surprised at the seemingly low payout amount, but said he believes the $7 million claim is a reasonable settlement offer. Figueroa was on the fast track to becoming a sous chef, he said, and left behind a widow to care for their two young children. Flores concedes the case faces hurdles but said they're not insurmountable.

For one, a Maricopa County medical examiner and a doctor who conducted an independent autopsy disagree on the cause of death. The county's report found Figueroa died of acute alcohol poisoning, while the independent examiner's report says it was a respiratory death caused by a head trauma, "positional asphyxiation," or a combination of the two.

"In the best of circumstances, these are difficult cases," Manning said of claims against police.

Juries and risk-management officials can and should give officers the benefit of the doubt, he said.

Officers are often granted leeway for decisions they're forced to make in a nanosecond.

And some claims, he said, simply have no merit.

"We don't take court cases where there's much doubt about the reasonableness of the conduct," he said. "Some are lost because they should be lost."