Marvin Booker died in 2010 after deputies shocked him with a Taser while he was handcuffed, put him in a sleeper hold and lay on top of him, apparently in an effort to control him. His family’s attorneys said that was a zealous overreaction to the 56-year-old, who was frail and suffered a heart condition. The city had argued the deputies’ actions were in line with the department’s policies for subduing a combative inmate.

“He didn’t deserve what these five sheriffs did to him that night,” his brother, Spencer Booker, said, fighting tears after the verdict. “The jury spoke very, very, very clearly that they used excessive force against my brother. Your actions call for consequences.”

The three-week civil trial came amid calls for a federal investigation of the department over other high-profile abuse cases that prompted the sheriff’s department to make sweeping reforms. Former Sheriff Gary Wilson resigned in July as the city agreed to pay $3.3 million to settle another federal jail-abuse lawsuit by a former inmate over a beating. It had been the largest payout in city history to settle a civil rights case.

The all-white, seven-member jury began deliberating Friday and delivered its verdict just before noon Tuesday.

“The community won’t tolerate this anymore, and things have to change,” Booker family attorney Darold Killmer said. “This verdict should reverberate around the country. This is a sign that people are not going to put up with it anymore.”

City Attorney Scott Martinez said the city was disappointed, but thanked the jurors for their work. “The city remains committed to its ongoing efforts to improve the Denver Sheriff’s Department,” Martinez said in a statement.