TUCSON, Ariz. — Carlos Adrian Ingram-Lopez died after police restrained him in April earlier this year.
His grandmother had called for help after the man began acting strangely. Three officers held him face down. They resigned as TPD prepared to fire them for ignoring rules on how to safely handle someone in custody.
An autopsy by Pima County said Ingram Lopez had drugs in his system and had a heart condition. An independent autopsy commissioned by the family said the way officers held Ingram-Lopez contributed to his death.
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Now an attorney for Iris Lizaraga, Ingram-Lopez's mother, has filed a formal notice demanding $27 million in the death -- $15 million from the city and $4 million from each of the officers. Eduardo Coronado says the legal system has no option other than to ask for monetary damages but it was hard for her to try to put a dollar value on the loss of her son.
“So it was really very difficult, but it has to be done, because it brings attention to the police department, the things have to change and that they did something wrong,” said attorney Eduardo Coronado.
The city has 60 days to acknowledge the demand and begin negotiating or a formal lawsuit can be filed. About a month ago, another attorney filed a claim on behalf of Ingram-Lopez's two-year-old daughter. It seeks a total of $19 million -- $10 million from the city and $3 million from each of the former officers.
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