PHOENIX — In an 8-1 vote Wednesday, Phoenix’s City Council approved a $650,000 settlement payment to the family of a man who died in Phoenix police custody in February of 2019.
The mother of Casey Wells had been suing the City of Phoenix alleging Phoenix officers of wrongful death and using excessive force against her 40-year-old son in 2019.
This marks the 8th police-related incident settled by the Phoenix Police Department and approved by the City Council in 2023, totaling a payout of $12,368,000.
The city told ABC15 that all police liability claims less than $7.5 million are paid for with city funds. Any claims higher than $7.5 million are paid for with insurance. So far this year, no claims have crossed that numerical threshold. If they did, the city would pay for it using self-insurance under Chapter 42 of the City Code which reads:
- A. Through the trust the City shall act as a self-insurer for all liability claims, special risk claims, workers’ compensation claims and claim costs other than those falling within the coverage provisions of an insurance policy or surety bond. The liability of the City for such claims and claim costs shall be established by law. The Director shall cause the City to comply with all requirements for self-insurers as may be contained in applicable law to obtain for the City all benefits of self-insurance status, and to maintain such status for as long as it is in the City’s interests to do so.
- B. The trust fund shall be funded as part of the annual budgetary and appropriation process of the City of Phoenix in such amounts as to provide sufficient monies to pay all reasonably anticipated liability claims, special risk claims, workers’ compensation claims and claim costs against the City for the ensuing fiscal year.
- C. The Director and the Budget and Research Director shall determine the funding level of the trust fund. (Ord. No. G-5618, 2011; Ord. No. G-5818, 2013)
Wells was discovered standing naked, with his hands raised up, on a residential street in February 2019.
"He was talking to Jesus and praising him," said Wells' mom, Lei Ann Stickney. "He did a lot, whenever he was in an 'episode.'"
Stickney said she didn't know whether her son's 'episodes' were caused by drugs, mental illness, or both. An autopsy determined Wells had methamphetamines in his system and had previously been treated for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Six officers held Wells down and officers noticed Wells was 'purple,' and they began lifesaving efforts. In body camera footage, two officers mention "excited delirium," which is a term to describe a controversial syndrome sometimes characterized as a potentially fatal state of extreme agitation and delirium. Excited delirium is often cited in conjunction with police in-custody deaths of people who have a mental illness or have used drugs.
The city and its police department remain under a sweeping federal probe by the Department of Justice that is focused on use of force, discriminatory policing, the treatment of people experiencing homelessness, response to people in crisis, and retaliation against protesters.
