City Will Cover Any Punitive Sum From Suit
The City Council voted last week to pay any punitive damages assessed against 10 police officers and one other city employee in a lawsuit filed by the family of Tuan Tang, 19, who died in 1998 after being arrested.
The federal civil lawsuit, filed in 1999, alleges that police and the city employee failed to properly evaluate Tang’s physical condition after he was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance.
While he was in custody, Tang appeared to have difficulty breathing and was taken to a hospital, where he died a week later. An autopsy determined that he died of cocaine-related complications.
A city investigation cleared the officers and employee of any wrongdoing.
The trial, which also names the city, Orange County and the Orange County Fire Authority as defendants, is set to begin Wednesday. The lawsuit seeks $10 million in damages.
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