Civil Rights
Apr. 23, 2026
Federal jury awards $17M in fatal Tustin police shooting of homeless man
Jurors found a Tustin officer used excessive force in the 2021 shooting of Luis Garcia, a homeless, mentally ill man, rejecting qualified immunity defenses after a 9th Circuit remand.
A federal jury Tuesday awarded $17 million to the daughters of a homeless, mentally ill man fatally shot by a Tustin police officer, finding the use of deadly force excessive and unreasonable in a closely watched civil rights case.
The unanimous verdict followed a six-day trial over the August 2021 death of Luis Garcia, 38, who was shot by Officer Estela Silva after another officer deployed a Taser. Garcia v. City of Tustin et al., 8:22-cv-00131 (C.D. Cal., filed Jan. 25,...
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