Man awarded $900K after brutal police interrogation leads him to confess to murder that never happened, attempt suicide

A mentally disturbed California man is now nearly $1 million richer after settling a lawsuit in connection with a brutal police interrogation about a murder that never even happened.

On Aug. 8, 2018, Tom Perez Jr. called police in Fontana, California, just outside San Bernardino, to report that his father, Tom Perez Sr., was missing. When cops arrived at the home the father and son shared, they reportedly found Perez Sr.'s cell phone and wallet as well as bloodstains. A K-9 cop also reportedly detected a "deceased human remain odor," a court document said, according to HuffPost.

'They could get you and I to confess to killing Abe Lincoln if they wanted to.'

Perez Jr. was then brought to police headquarters for questioning. What followed was a grueling, hours-long interrogation into the alleged murder of Perez Sr.

During the interrogation, the cops — who have not been identified — repeatedly told Perez Jr. that his father had been stabbed to death and that he had killed him. "We just told you we found your dead dad, and you don't give a ****," one detective said.

Perez Jr., who was never formally arrested in connection with the alleged murder, insisted he couldn't remember doing any such thing. Police, however, claimed that he was simply suppressing painful memories.

On at least one occasion, Perez Jr. asked for his psychiatric medication, but that request was denied. Between possible medication withdrawal and the pressure of the interrogation, Perez Jr. eventually descended into a severe mental breakdown. He began tearing at his shirt, hitting himself, and pulling his hair, video evidenced showed.

And yet police pressure did not relent. In fact, cops brought in a friend of Perez Jr. in hopes of eliciting a confession. "They say they have enough evidence," the friend allegedly cautioned Perez Jr.

Investigators even brought Perez Jr.'s beloved dog into the interrogation room and threatened to euthanize her unless he confessed to the alleged murder.

"How can you sit there, how can you sit there and say you don’t know what happened, and your dog is sitting there looking at you, knowing that you killed your dad?" an officer asked.

"Look at your dog. She knows because she was walking through all the blood."

Overwhelmed mentally, Perez Jr. finally gave police what they wanted: He confessed to murdering his father. Shortly thereafter, officers left him alone in the interrogation room. At that point, Perez Jr. strung together some shoelaces and attempted to hang himself, court documents said.

Investigators disrupted the suicide attempt and then placed Perez Jr. in custody in a mental hospital, where they left him for three days. During that time, cops prevented Perez Jr. from having contact with any family or friends, and he wallowed in anguish, presuming that both his dog and his dad were dead.

Only they weren't. Not only had his dog been taken to a shelter from which she was later rescued, but Perez Sr. was soon located in El Monte, California. He had simply gone to visit a "lady friend," his daughter told police.

Perez Jr. was eventually informed that his dad was very much alive, released from custody, and reunited with his dog. Not content to let bygones be bygones, Perez Jr. soon filed a lawsuit against the City of Fontana for the horrific experience, and last summer, Judge Dolly Gee ruled that a jury could very well determine that the brutal interrogation amounted to "unconstitutional psychological torture."

Last Thursday, nearly six years after the incident, Perez Jr. agreed to a settlement of $900,000, his attorney, Jerry Steering, announced. In the announcement, Steering echoed Judge Gee's ruling and claimed that police had "mentally tortur[ed]" Perez Jr. into making a false confession.

Steering also accused police of engaging in deliberately cruel interrogation methods. "They're not amateurs, and they know what they're doing, and they know how to do it," he explained.

"They could get you and I to confess to killing Abe Lincoln if they wanted to."

Thankfully, Perez Jr. is "doing fine" now, Steering said, adding that his client agreed to the settlement now because of the "looming possibility that the Fontana Officers might have prevailed on an appeal."

The City of Fontana and the Fontana Police Department did not respond to requests for comment from HuffPost and KCAL News.

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H/T: Collin Rugg