LA County OKs $3.3 million to settle 2015 deputy-involved shooting suit

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has approved a $3.3 million settlement with the family of a man who was killed in an encounter with sheriff's deputies in Lakewood in 2015.

The payment was approved to settle a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of John Berry, who was unarmed and suffering mental problems when deputies encountered him on July 6, 2015.

Deputies had been called on a report of a man acting erratically in the 5500 block of Adenmoor Avenue that morning.

At the time they said they found Berry in a vehicle and during their attempts to talk to him, he accelerated and hit a patrol car.

At one point as the encounter continued, deputies believed he was in danger of striking another deputy with his car and they say they fired at him, hitting him in the upper body and killing him.

His family disputed their account of the shooting, arguing that the deputy was not in danger during the incident. They said they had called the Sheriff's Department simply in the hope they would take Berry to a psychiatric hospital.

Berry's mother Susan hopes the department will instill better training for deputies to deal with mental health situations.

"I pray it doesn't happen to any mother that would have to witness that ever again. That's where I'm hoping for change," Susan Berry said.

Charges were not filed against the deputies, with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office saying it believed the deputies acted properly in self-defense.