ESCONDIDO, CA
Civil Rights Action Filed as Criminal Gross Vehicular Manslaughter Case Proceeds Against Officer Ingco in Death of 39-Year-Old Father
The family of Jacob Illian, a 39-year-old father killed by an Escondido Police officer has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the City of Escondido and Officer Jason Ingco. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California [under Case No. 26CV3448 H JLB], alleges that Officer Ingco’s decision to pursue and strike Mr. Illian with his patrol vehicle while he rode his electric bicycle on a designated bike path violated Mr. Illian’s constitutional rights and resulted in his wrongful death. The complaint also describes dangerous high-speed pursuit policies and practices by the City of Escondido that it alleges contributed to Illian’s death in August of 2025.
On the afternoon of August 21, 2025, Officer Ingco initiated a pursuit of Mr. Illian near Valley Parkway and Rose Street in Escondido, chasing him along a designated bike path. According to the complaint, Officer Ingco struck Mr. Illian with his police cruiser while attempting a “PIT maneuver” or “pursuit intervention technique” designed to strike the bicycle to bring it to a stop. Mr. Illian died at the scene from blunt force trauma to the head, leaving behind a family devastated by an irreplaceable loss.
The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges against Officer Ingco on May 7, 2026. Officer Ingco has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor count of gross vehicular manslaughter. His preliminary trial date is set for September 2026. The family’s civil rights action runs parallel to the criminal prosecution and seeks accountability through the federal courts for the constitutional violations that cost Mr. Illian his life.
“Jacob’s family is gratified that the District Attorney has moved to hold this officer criminally accountable. But criminal charges alone do not restore what was taken from this family. This civil rights lawsuit ensures that the full weight of the law – and the constitutional protections every American is guaranteed – applies here. The family did not ask for this to happen to their family, but they do demand justice for the loss they have suffered.””
— Attorney Mark Fleming, Counsel for the Illian Family“What happened to Jacob was not an accident – it was the foreseeable result of a decision to chase a man on a bicycle with a patrol car and to intentionally strike a bicycle with a patrol car. This family lost a husband, a father,a son, and a beloved brother. We seek to hold the City of Escondido and Officer Ingco fully accountable for the harm they have caused.”
— Tim Scott, Civil Rights Attorney and Co-Counsel for the Illian Family, McKenzie Scott PC“My husband’s life mattered. This lawsuit represents pain, loss, and the beginning of seeking accountability. Losing my husband has changed our lives forever. Every day we carry the grief, the trauma, and the emptiness left behind. No family should have to fight for justice after the senseless loss of someone they loved so deeply.”
— Merari Illian, Widow of Jacob Illian
The lawsuit names the City of Escondido and Officer Ingco as defendants and asserts claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, as well as related state law claims. The family is represented by civil rights attorneys Mark Fleming and Tim Scott, of McKenzie Scott PC.
ABOUT THE ATTORNEYS
Attorneys Mark Fleming and Tim Scott have secured substantial case victories as co-counsel, including the then-largest police excessive-force verdict in American history ($85 million in K.J.P. v. San Diego).
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jason Kitchen
McKenzie Scott PC
C: (517) 974-4724
O: (619) 794-0451