In 2017, Alameda County Deputy Sheriff Luis Santamaria was charged with three felonies by progressive prosecutor George Gascon in the aftermath of a car chase and use of force against a career criminal, who had evaded other deputies (injuring one in the process) and fled across the Bay Bridge to San Francisco. RLS Attorneys Mike Rains and Nicole Pifari represented Luis in the criminal case.
After the trial had been delayed several times, RLS sought resolution of the case through a newly-enacted statute that provided for dismissal of charges based upon mental health status. Luis’s circumstances certainly merited such a disposition. He had been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as the result of his involvement in a number of harrowing critical incidents. Notably, mere months before the pursuit that led to his being charged, Luis had tried in vain to save the life of a police sergeant who had been shot in the head during a traffic stop.
The San Francisco Superior Court granted our motion with certain requirements including treatment. Luis successfully completed the specified program and the Court dismissed all of the charges and enhancements that Gascon had filed against him. Subsequently, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department and their attorneys agreed to grant Deputy Santamaria an industrial retirement in light of the overwhelming evidence of service-related PTSD. After going through a lengthy and demanding process with the Alameda County Retirement System (ACERA), RLS finally received word on September 23, 2024 that ACERA had granted Luis’s retirement application, retroactive to December, 2016.
RLS was honored to represent Deputy Santamaria. His situation is yet another example of our firm’s ability to support our clients whether through aggressive litigation or collaborative resolution (or a combination of both).
“This has been one of the most difficult things I ever had to deal with, and Mike and Nicole and the RLS staff were a tremendous help. I am incredibly grateful and thankful for everything they did for me and my family. I also want to thank PORAC Legal Defense Fund for the support they provided to me and my attorneys in defending the criminal case, and the Alameda County DSA who authorized RLS to pursue the disability retirement. My biggest most sincere thank you to everyone that worked on this. Isaiah 43:2.”
– Luis Santamaria
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