The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday a $1.1-million settlement for the mother of a man who was shot 18 times and had his skull fractured after a sheriff's deputy stomped on his head.
A federal jury ruled in January that the deputy used excessive force in the death of Connor Zion, 21, and decided his family should receive $360,000 in damages. An additional $740,000 was tacked on for the "tremendous amount of litigation" after the lawsuit slogged through the legal system for four years, said Dan Stormer, the attorney for Zion's mother.
Zion was killed in September 2013 during an encounter with two deputies in Laguna Niguel. According to official accounts, he had been chasing another deputy with a knife through a condominium complex when Deputy Michael Higgins arrived.
The other deputy, Juan Lopez, tripped, and Zion lowered the knife to stab him. Higgins drew his gun and shot Zion nine times. Dash-cam video shows Zion running a few feet before collapsing and Higgins firing nine more shots as Zion lay on the ground.
The deputy walked away briefly before turning back, breaking into a short run and then stomping on Zion's head, fracturing his skull. He smashed his foot onto the man's head twice more before retreating to help Lopez, according to dash-cam video and official accounts of the incident.
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