A federal appeals court has ordered a new trial for the family of a man who sued Elk Grove police after he died in police custody in November 2016, citing “false or grossly misleading” testimony from a pathologist who conducted an autopsy on the man had performed.
The opinion from a three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals came in response to a lawsuit filed by the family of Daniel Landeros, a 41-year-old tiler and father of five, who was the first person to die in Elk Grove police custody since the department’s creation in 2006.
Landeros died after fleeing a traffic accident and was subdued by officers who handcuffed him and held him face down.
His family filed a lawsuit and the case went to trial in the summer of 2022, with attorneys Dale Galipo and Stewart Katz arguing for a multimillion-dollar award saying police used unreasonable and excessive force that led to Landeros’ death led.
Elk Grove police attorney Bruce Praet instead argued that Landeros had toxic levels of methamphetamine in his system, had a history of heart problems and died of cardiac arrest.
Dr. Jason Tovar, a forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy for the Sacramento County coroner’s office, testified that he believed cardiac arrest led to Landeros’ death, according to court records.
After a seven-day trial before Senior U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb, a jury rejected the claim that Elk Grove police were responsible for Landeros’ death.
But the appeals panel ordered the case returned for a new trial after concluding that Tovar had not been forthcoming about his involvement in the defense prior to the trial.
“In this case, false testimony prevented plaintiffs from fully and fairly arguing their case,” the panel wrote. “Dr. Jason Tovar, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Daniel Landeros, made several statements during the trial about his alleged independence from the defendants.
“These statements were false or grossly misleading. Dr. Tovar testified that he was “(a)bsolutely” “not associated with the defense … in this case” and “had no connection whatsoever with the Elk Grove Police Department.”
‘He told the jury that he considered himself ‘independent and impartial’, ‘met in the hallway for the first time that morning’ and testified ‘by way of subpoena’.
“Yet nearly two years prior to the trial, the defense signed an undisclosed fee agreement to compensate Dr. To pay Tovar $400 per hour for his time “in expert advice and/or legal proceedings” in the case. Counsel agreed to appoint Dr. Tovar directly instead of reimbursing his employer, the County of Sacramento.
“Dr. Tovar viewed the arrangement as “working privately … outside (his) work area at the … Coroner’s Office.”
Tovar did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent through the coroner’s office on Friday, and Praet did not return a call to his Orange County office.
Katz said he was satisfied with the panel’s opinion and expected the case to go to a new trial.
“It’s great news for the family,” Katz said. “Honestly, it’s almost a bit comforting. I have become quite cynical and it is very satisfying that a court can do the right thing.”
The appeals panel found that Tovar spoke with the Elk Grove police attorney a “handful of times” and also had “some email communications” with him.
“The counselor told Dr. Tovar what materials to look at and, because Dr. Tovar ‘failed to utilize the coroner’s resources,’ he provided him with the autopsy report and only two of the ‘numerous’ available bodycam and dashcam videos,” the panel wrote. . “After the lawsuit, the city of Elk Grove issued a check to Dr. Tovar valued at $4,000, pursuant to the compensation agreement.”
The panel wrote that Tovar’s “false and misleading testimony prejudiced plaintiffs’ case.”
“Landeros’ cause of death was a critical issue in the case, and the evidence regarding causation was subject to interpretation,” the panel wrote, noting that prosecutors relied on testimony from Dr. Ronald O’Halloran, an expert who testified that “Landeros died of asphyxiation caused by the defendant officers compressing his chest with their body weight.”
“Other evidence – such as Landeros telling the officers, ‘I can’t breathe’ and his turning blue – supported that theory,” the panel wrote.
The panel noted that a defense expert, Dr. Theodore Chan, testified that “Landeros died of methamphetamine-induced cardiac arrest,” and that although “the autopsy report made no mention of cardiac arrest, Dr. Tovar testified that he believed there was there was a cardiac arrest. the cause of death.”
“Whether the officers used excessive force depended on the experts assigned by the jury,” the panel ruled. “The defense relied heavily on its portrayal of Dr. Tovar as an independent and reliable public servant and from Dr. O’Halloran as a paid expert who would say anything for his clients.”
The panel noted that the attorney for the Elk Grove Police Department described Tovar to the jury as “the completely independent chief medical examiner, Dr. Tovar.”
“If the jury had known that Dr. Tovar was paid by the defendants as a private expert, she might have viewed his opinion more critically,” the panel concluded.
