Anthony Silva, a 39-year-old homeless man left quadriplegic after Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputies slammed him onto concrete while he was handcuffed at a Riverbank festival in October 2022, died from his injuries in September 2023. His mother’s federal wrongful death lawsuit against Stanislaus County settled in December 2025 for $5 million, with the county admitting no wrongdoing or liability.1The Modesto Bee. Stanislaus County Shells Out $5 Million in Wrongful Death Settlement
What Happened at the Riverbank Festival
On October 8, 2022, Deputy Justin Camara and Detective Za Xiong responded to a reported disturbance at the Riverbank Community Center during the city’s Cheese and Wine Festival. Silva regularly slept under a gazebo at the community center and was there when deputies arrived. The federal complaint later filed by his family stated that whatever Silva had been doing “was not violent and was not illegal.”2The Modesto Bee. Stanislaus County Sued for Wrongful Death
Deputies placed Silva on the ground and handcuffed him. Body camera footage recorded the encounter. While deputies searched Silva’s possessions near the gazebo, he tried to jostle away, and deputies forced him head-first onto the concrete.3AOL News. Stanislaus County Sued for Wrongful Death The impact fractured two vertebrae in his neck and left him a quadriplegic.
After hitting the ground, Silva told deputies, “I can’t breathe” and “I’m paralyzed.” One deputy replied, “No, you’re not.” According to the complaint, deputies moved him to a bench rather than stabilizing his neck, which worsened the injury. Medical care took roughly 30 minutes to arrive. Body camera footage also captured deputies discussing a camera mute function, and one deputy directed another to tell a bystander to turn off her camera.3AOL News. Stanislaus County Sued for Wrongful Death
A Year in the Hospital, Then Death
Silva was hospitalized for nearly a year. He was bedridden, on a ventilator to breathe and a feeding tube to eat, and suffered seizures and heart attacks during that time.2The Modesto Bee. Stanislaus County Sued for Wrongful Death He was taken off life support and died on September 10, 2023, at age 40. The complaint attributed his death to the initial neck fracture, alleging that the failure to stabilize him and the delay in medical care contributed.
The $5 Million Settlement
Silva’s mother, Dorothy Heimbach, filed the wrongful death suit in 2023 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, where it was assigned to Judge Daniel J. Calabretta.4Justia. Silva v. Stanislaus County, 2:23-cv-01887-DJC-CSK She was represented by attorney Cooper Mayne. The complaint alleged that deputies forcibly slammed Silva onto concrete while he was handcuffed, breaking his neck and ultimately causing his death.
The case settled in December 2025 for $5 million. Under the agreement, the county was not required to admit any wrongdoing or liability.1The Modesto Bee. Stanislaus County Shells Out $5 Million in Wrongful Death Settlement Heimbach told The Modesto Bee: “He suffered for a whole year, his lungs were collapsed. They did him wrong, very wrong. They broke his neck and his back.”5KCRA. Stanislaus County Sued for Wrongful Death of Son
No Charges, No Internal Investigation
The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office reviewed the case after being contacted by The Modesto Bee in January 2024. In June 2024, the DA’s office notified the Sheriff’s Office it would not bring criminal charges against Deputy Camara or Detective Xiong.1The Modesto Bee. Stanislaus County Shells Out $5 Million in Wrongful Death Settlement
The Sheriff’s Office admitted in court documents that it never conducted an internal affairs investigation. Attorneys for the county also acknowledged the Sheriff’s Office did not report Silva’s injury to the California Department of Justice, a 2015 state law requires law enforcement agencies to report use-of-force incidents that cause serious bodily injury or death.6The Modesto Bee. Deputies Cleared of Criminal Charges in Fatal Encounter The Sheriff’s Office did not respond to media requests for comment.
Deputy Camara’s Prior Fatal Encounter
The Silva case was not Deputy Camara’s first involvement in a death during a struggle with deputies. In 2018, while a trainee, Camara was among the deputies involved in the death of Alejandro Sanchez. The Sanchez family’s federal lawsuit settled for $1.5 million, and the district attorney’s office cleared the deputies of criminal wrongdoing in that case as well.6The Modesto Bee. Deputies Cleared of Criminal Charges in Fatal Encounter
Other Force Settlements Against the Sheriff’s Office
A law firm representing the family of Xander Mann, fatally shot by deputies in May 2021, counted 11 use-of-force incidents since February 2017 that produced six deaths and 10 lawsuits against the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office.7The Modesto Bee. Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office Faces Pattern of Force Allegations Settled cases from that period include:
- Evin Olsen Yadegar, fatally shot in February 2017, settled for $7 million; the deputy involved, Justin Wall, was charged with manslaughter.
- Alex Barbour, shot in November 2017, settled for $500,000.
- Jedidiah Morelos, pepper-sprayed and shot with beanbag rounds in 2018, settled for $237,500.
- Armando Osuna, fatally shot in May 2018, settled for $15,000.
Sheriff Jeff Dirkse has disputed the characterization of a pattern, calling it “simply not true” and saying roughly one in every 400 public encounters results in the use of force.7The Modesto Bee. Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office Faces Pattern of Force Allegations The $5 million Silva settlement adds to the county’s cumulative payout on use-of-force claims.