Jury awards more than $2M to family of homeless man killed by deputy sheriff at Capitol
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A Honolulu jury on Friday awarded more than $2 million to the family of a homeless man who was shot and killed by a deputy sheriff at the state Capitol.
The jury reached the verdict Friday afternoon after starting deliberations on Wednesday morning following nearly four days of testimony.
The family of Delmar Espejo, 28, filed a lawsuit against the state of Hawaii and the deputy sheriff who shot him in the back during a scuffle at the Capitol back in February 2019.
The jury agreed that former deputy sheriff Gregory Bergman was responsible for the force used on Espejo. They also found the state liable for failing to properly train and supervise Bergman.
Bergman and Espejo got into a physical altercation after being confronted for having alcohol on Capitol grounds.
Bergman was never criminally charged. But Espejo’s family filed a civil suit against him and the state.
The family lawsuit filed in February 2021 alleged wrongful death, negligence and excessive force.
On Friday, the jury awarded Espejo’s mother $2.27 million.
The state attorney general’s office issued a statement that said in part, "Numerous errors were made that affected the fairness of the trial. We are considering our options."
During trial, it was revealed that Espejo was diagnosed with polio as a child and had trouble walking.
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