A federal judge has cleared several San Jose Police officers who shot and killed a mentally ill man in his back yard after he had slashed his brother's throat, reports the Mercury News .
Daniel Pham, 27, died in the May 2009 standoff with officers who had responded to the family's home. The family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the officers, claiming they provoked Pham by jumping a backyard fence instead of calling for an officer trained to deal with mentally ill subjects .