$600,000 Settlement in Wrongful Death by Pennsylvania Police
$600,000 Settlement in Wrongful Death by Pennsylvania Police
On July 2, 2012, at a pretrial conference between the parties, defendants, Shenandoah Township Police Officers, and plaintiffs, parents of an eighteen year-old boy deceased under questionable circumstances in the Borough of Shenandoah Jail, reached a $600,000 settlement in lieu of further legal action. David Vega was arrested on the evening of November 28, 2004, following a reported domestic disturbance involving Vega, his brother, and an acquaintance. Vega was placed in a holding cell and was found dead 84 minutes later.
Vega, held as disorderly conduct charges were being drawn up, was agitated, shouting curses for about an hour before suddenly becoming quiet. Police officer Jamie Gennarini checked Vega’s cell and found him hanging in a partially standing position from a noose that was a foot lower than Vega’s standing height. Vega’s parents brought suit asserting that Gennarini and Shenandoah Police Chief Matthew Nestor beat Vega to death, and then hung him by the noose.
Subsequent to a second autopsy, a pathology expert, retained by the plaintiffs, determined that Vega was hung after he was deceased, and that his inherent human survival instinct would not have permitted Vega to strangle himself that way. The autopsy also noted multiple injuries to Vega’s head, two of which were to the top of his head, inconsistent with the jailor’s story that they accidently dropped Vega while cutting him down.
Borough officials fled the sinking ship, stating that such action, if true, was the result of individuals operating in their individual capacity independent of Borough liability.
Plaintiffs initially sought $550,000 to $740,000 in lost future wages and $150,000 in punitive damages. See: Vega v. Nestor, U.S.D.C. (M.D. Penn.), Case no. 4:06-cv-02287-JEJ.
Source: www.verdictsearch.com
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Related legal case
Vega v. Nestor
| Year | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Cite | U.S.D.C. (M.D. Penn.), Case no. 4:06-cv-02287-JEJ. |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Damages | 600,000 |