The family of San Francisco police recruit Jon-Marques Psalms, who died last month after a training exercise, has hired a Southern California attorney who won more than $1 million in 2006 for the family of rapper Biggie Smalls in a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles.
Bradley Gage has won several major cases involving the Los Angeles Police Department and Sheriff’s Department. He also represents embattled San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus in her lawsuit against the county.
Gage said Psalms’ family plans to file a lawsuit against San Francisco.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We have more questions than answers at this point, but what we do know is troubling,” Gage said. “A perfectly healthy young man went through training at the police academy. As a result of that training, he has now left the earth. Why did this happen? How did it happen?”
Gage said the San Francisco Police Department’s actions regarding academy leadership following Psalms’ death raise questions, especially the transfer of one high-ranking officer and the temporary departure of the captain soon after the incident.
“You do not have both a lieutenant and captain [moved] essentially within days of a tragedy unless the department already has found alleged wrongdoing on their part,” he said.
The city attorney’s office said it does not comment on pending lawsuits. The SFPD did not respond to a request for comment.
Psalms died Aug. 22 after taking part in a defense tactics training known as “RedMan,” in which an opponent in a padded red suit attempts to disarm and take down a recruit.
The cause and manner of death remain under investigation, but new details have emerged, according to Gage, who said Psalms was unconscious after the Redman exercise. The 30-year-old regained consciousness before collapsing and being rushed to the hospital.
“He started having a breakdown of different organs,” Gage said. “Kidneys, liver, and heart, one after another. What caused it is still being investigated.”
Gage said Psalms became brain-dead.
“Cases like this are tragic, no matter how you look at it. In this particular case, it appeared there [were] problems with the way the training was carried out, which led to a death. People should not die when they are training to become a cop,” he said.
The incident remains under investigation by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health and the San Francisco Medical Examiners Office.
Psalms grew up in Southern California and moved to the Bay Area five years ago to work in tech sales before joining the police academy in May as part of Class 286. He was a blue belt in jujitsu and played golf.
On Thursday, Psalms' younger brother Malik Psalms posted a link to a GoFundMe campaign “to help pay for a second autopsy due to the uncertainty around the cause of his death.”