Pleasanton Settles For $6M In Death Of Jacob Bauer

PLEASANTON, CA — The City of Pleasanton agreed to pay $5.9 million to the parents of Jacob Bauer, who died in police custody, to settle a wrongful death lawsuit, attorneys for the family announced.

The settlement also included terms for a listening session between Pleasanton police Chief David Swing and John and Rose Bauer, according to a statement released Tuesday by family attorneys.

"No parent should ever have to live with the visions of the violent death of their child. Jacob lost his life over a few broken bottles at a grocery store," Jacob Bauer's mother, Rose Bauer, said in the statement. "I hope this settlement creates real changes to stop police from using excessive force against the mentally ill."

Officers Bradlee Midleton and Jonathan Chin, who were involved in the police response that led to Jacob Bauer's death, were cleared of wrongdoing by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, Bay Area News Group reported.

"We hope that with the investigation complete and the final report released, the healing process can begin for Mr. Bauer's family, the officers involved, and our community," interim Pleasanton Police Department Chief Craig Eicher said in an email at the time.

The Pleasanton Police Department said Wednesday in a statement that it "values the sanctity of life and continues to extend its most sincere condolences to the Bauer family."

Jacob Bauer's death came three days after his parents told police that he was experiencing a mental health crisis and they feared their son would be hurt or killed if he encountered police, according to the statement.

Jacob Bauer, 38, died of a methamphetamine overdose, according to the Alameda County Coroner's Bureau. He showed signs of respiratory distress after he was placed into an ambulance and died in custody soon after arriving at the hospital.

The case dated back to an Aug. 1, 2018, call to police. Workers at the Raley's at 5420 Sunol Blvd. became worried for the safety of customers after Bauer began destroying alcohol bottles and slamming a shopping cart on the ground, police said at the time.

Jacob Bauer answered police officers' questions near the store then became unresponsive and stared off into the distance, attorneys for the Bauers said. Police detained him, and additional officers arrived at the scene. Police asked Jacob Bauer, who was shocked with a stun gun and placed into a restraint, to calm down.

"A fully restrained Jacob Bauer repeatedly told officers, 'you're suffocating me' and 'I can't breathe' — to which officers dismissively replied, 'No, you can breathe, that's why you're yelling still,'" attorneys for the Bauers said in the statement. "Seconds later, Jacob began to turn blue."

A paramedic gave Jacob Bauer a sedative, attorneys said. He became unresponsive but it was several minutes before anyone noticed; officers were talking about an ice cream social, attorneys said.

"This asphyxiation was every bit as serious as George Floyd's but done by many different police officers," the Bauers' attorneys wrote in the statement.

The Bauers filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2019.

Jayme L. Walker, one of the family's lawyers, called Jacob Bauer's death "an outrageous tragedy that never should have occurred had PPD followed good police practices and training."

The settlement was approved by the city's insurance carrier, Bay Cities Joint Powers Insurance Authority, according to the police department.