Woman settles civil rights lawsuit for $425K after being shot by Rancho Cordova police
RANCHO CORDOVA – A woman found not guilty of assaulting Rancho Cordova police officers who fired at her fleeing vehicle in November 2023 saw her civil rights lawsuit against the city and its police department settled in Sacramento court Thursday.
Kyrieanna Liles spent six months in jail for a crime a jury ruled she did not commit.
Though she and her attorneys asked for $1 million in her lawsuit, the civil case was settled at $425,000.
"It feels like an injustice. This was never about money. It was that my daughter wants to fight this because she wants these people held accountable," said Jamie Kristen, Liles' mother.
Kristen said they chose to settle because they felt financially they could not afford to have this case dragged out for years in the court system leading up to a trial.
"I think it's a worthy fight, I just wish we had the resources to fight it," Kristen said.
The civil rights lawsuit was filed while Liles was still incarcerated, alleging the Rancho Cordova Police Department had no right to come onto her property and initiate the conversation that ultimately escalated to them shooting her.
The lawsuit claimed it to be an unlawful detention of a mentally ill woman from the start. Police officers approached Liles sitting in her car in her driveway that day after she was accused by neighbors of having come to their home with a knife in hand looking for her missing dog, believing it to be in someone's backyard.
Those neighbors did not press any charges.
Officers approached Liles after responding to the neighbor's concerned call and a call to 911 from Liles herself reporting her dog was missing and she feared a neighbor might kill it.
Police tapped on Liles' driver's side window wanting to talk to her. They did not announce who they were or that she was under investigation for any crime.
The deputy is seen on body-camera video trying to physically pull Liles from her car after she refuses multiple orders to get out of the car, stating, "I didn't do anything wrong."
RELATED: Use of force in question: Bodycam footage shows Sacramento deputies open fire on fleeing car
Liles argued in her original criminal trial that she was afraid, which is why she drove her car through her front yard to escape the officers, but that she never intended to hurt them with her moving vehicle.
They fired multiple shots at her, striking her in the arm, before ultimately arresting her later that afternoon.
Liles was charged with assault on those officers. They did not suffer any physical injuries in the altercation.
After being found not guilty, Liles told CBS13 in an exclusive interview that she had feared she would be convicted.
"I was so scared," Liles said. "I had to prepare myself for the worst. Three to five years is a long time. If six months was hard, just imagine. I had to miss Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, my big sister's wedding. Those are all things I will never be able to get back."
Liles lost her Rancho Cordova home due to the months she was incarcerated and out of work.
She is now moving out of California in search of a fresh start.
"I don't even think these are bad guys. I think they just need much better training. I think they are happy to settle because they don't want this to drag out any longer or be exposed," Kristen said. "They would like it to be swept under the rug."
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, which provides the staffing for the Rancho Cordova Police Department, confirmed to CBS13 in the past that the officers involved were still on the job but would not elaborate on if any disciplinary action was taken.