Board reports $87,500 settlement in Martinez excessive-force claim

County legal counsel told the Board of Supervisors on May 21 that the board met in closed session and unanimously authorized the county's risk management authority to make a settlement counter in Martinez v. County of Orange. Counsel said the plaintiff subsequently accepted the county's $87,500 settlement proposal.

The reported claim alleges that Orange County Sheriff's Department deputies detained the plaintiff without reasonable suspicion and used excessive force in connection with an investigation of an altercation at a Vons Pavilion grocery store in Laguna Niguel in March 2020. County counsel said the board took no other reportable action on closed-session matters that day. "When the settlement document is finalized, copies of the agreement will be made available through the Office of Risk Management to any person who inquires," counsel said.

The announcement followed the board's closed-session discussion and was presented as a status report rather than a court determination. The board did not vote publicly on the settlement amount during open session. Anyone seeking the finalized agreement was directed to contact the county's risk-management office for copies.

The county cited Government Code sections referenced in the closed-session notice; counsel did not provide additional detail about investigative findings or any changes to policy or discipline arising from the claim.