$150,000 Payment OKd in Death : Police: Bell Gardens agrees to the settlement for the family of a man who died after a struggle with four officers.

The city has agreed to pay $150,000 to the family of a Bell Gardens man who died after a struggle with four police officers at his apartment.

Antonio Cazares, 30, died July 8, 1988, after he was tackled by police and choked while being handcuffed, said Edward M. Fox, the attorney representing the Cazares family.

Police and coroner’s reports said it was not clear whether Cazares died during the arrest or minutes later, but the reports said Cazares suffocated when his neck was squeezed. Small amounts of heroin-morphine and cocaine were found in his blood, the autopsy report said.

The struggle between Cazares and police began shortly after police responded to a call at 3:30 a.m. that Cazares had been screaming and banging on doors in his apartment building. His relatives told police that Cazares had been taking drugs.

“He (Cazares) was acting strange,” Fox said. “But he didn’t have to die for it.”

Bell Gardens Police Lt. Dale Pierce defended his officers, saying Cazares was inadvertently strangled when one of the arresting officers tried to prevent Cazares from biting another officer.

Pierce said the case was settled to avoid the expense of a trial. “In a case like this, economics comes into play, and right and wrong doesn’t,” Pierce said.

The city would have paid $100,000 to $150,000 in attorneys’ fees before the case even went to trial, City Manager Claude Booker said. Six police officers were named as defendants, and each had his own attorney.

Members of Cazares’ family could not be reached for comment.

A federal complaint was filed by Cazares’ mother, Anthelma Cazares Perez, shortly before she died in July, 1989. In the suit, Perez said her son’s civil rights were violated because police used “unreasonable, unnecessary and excessive” force. The suit sought damages for emotional distress and the loss of income to the family.

Fox said the settlement will be divided among family members, including Cazares’ three sisters.

According to the police report, four Bell Gardens police officers stormed Cazares’ apartment on Quinn Street, and found Cazares hiding in the bathroom.

The report said Cazares, who was naked, peeked out of the bathroom several times, “yelling, screaming and sometimes laughing.”

As the officers prepared a plan to tackle Cazares the next time he appeared at the bathroom door, Cazares charged out of the bathroom wielding a plunger. When he raised the plunger above his head as if to strike Officer Frank Mitko, he was tackled from behind by Sgt. Paul Reuter. Mitko fell backward, and Cazares fell on top of him, landing in such a way that his neck was cradled in the crook of Mitko’s left arm, according to the report. Cazares attempted to bite Reuter, and Mitko tightened his grip around Cazares’ neck.

The report said Cazares went limp and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.