By Theresa Clift
The Sacramento Bee
SACRAMENTO, Calif. 鈥� The city of Sacramento is paying a $4.35 million settlement to the family of an unarmed Black man who died after police held him down in a dangerous position in his parents鈥� living room.
[PREVIOUSLY: Calif. wrongful death suit seeks ban on use of 鈥榠mproper restraints鈥� in medical emergencies]
In February 2020 because her diabetic son, Reginald 鈥淩eggie鈥� Payne, 48, was experiencing a medical emergency and needed a glucose IV 鈥� something she had done in the past. When firefighters arrived at the home, they determined they were unable to treat him, so they called three police officers to restrain him first. The officers, one of whom referred to Payne as a 鈥渂ig boy,鈥�, causing him to go into cardiac arrest, ultimately causing his death, according to the coroner鈥檚 report.
The settlement amount paid to the Payne family is slightly larger than the $4.1 million the city, an unarmed Black man police fatally shot in 2018 after mistaking his cellphone for a gun. The city in 2019 paid a $5.2 settlement to the family of John Hernandez, whom police .
The settlement, provided to The Sacramento Bee by Joseph Nicholson, attorney for Payne鈥檚 family, did not include any non-monetary elements such as policy changes. Filed in 2022, the suit sought an injunction to require police officers, firefighters and paramedics not to use 鈥渋mproper restraints鈥� such as the prone position in emergency medical situations in the future. It also sought for the city to require officers to attend racial bias training and create a mechanism to discipline officers who engage in racial discrimination.
鈥淭he city never investigated Reggie鈥檚 death as a police use of force and never seriously considered why their officers and firefighters would allow an individual in a medical crisis to be 鈥榯aken down鈥� and restrained like a dangerous criminal, essentially hogtied in the prone position in his own living room,鈥� Nicholson said in an email. 鈥淥r why there was no urgency to help Reggie even after he became unconscious and unresponsive. ... While it is common that civil settlements are not understood as admissions of fault, we hope the city will not miss this opportunity for needed change.鈥�
City spokesman Tim Swanson called the death 鈥渉eartbreaking.鈥�
鈥淓very loss of life is tragic, and Reginald Payne鈥檚 family has suffered an agonizing loss,鈥� Swanson said in an email. 鈥淲hile this settlement is not an admission of liability, the city has agreed with the family鈥檚 representatives that it is an appropriate resolution of this matter at this time, allowing both parties to avoid the ongoing risk and expense of a trial and to move forward.鈥�
The city in 2022 fired fire captain Jeffrey Klein, who was in charge of the firefighters during the call. Disciplinary documents, which The Bee obtained through a California Public Records Act, said Klein should have intervened when he saw the officers applying a restraint Klein knew was dangerous. Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 appealed the termination and in 2023
Firefighters Sean Holleman, Clinton Simons, Scott Caravalho and Eric Munson were also on the call. All are currently still employed by the department except Munson, Swanson said. Officers John Helmich, David Mower, and Kevin Moorman, who were all on the call, are all still employed by the police department.
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