The family of a man who was unarmed when he was fatally shot by two Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies has filed a $15 million lawsuit against the agency and the county, alleging civil rights violations and wrongful death.
Our Los Angeles sexual assault attorneys understand the victim's widow has two little girls who will now grow up without their father. Authorities have said that they believed the 36-year-old was reaching for a gun as he got out of the vehicle following a short chase that ended in Willowbrook. That, the deputies say, is why they fired.
Filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the lawsuit alleges the two responding deputies shot their guns at the unarmed man while he stood with his hands above his head. As such, the homicide was both unjustified and unreasonable. The lawsuit indicates that witnesses and autopsy reports both back a different version of events than the one told by the deputies, who the widow's attorney described as "trigger happy." The bullets that took his life, the lawsuit alleges, were discharged at him from behind, and the wounds on his right forearm indicates his hands were up at the time those shots were fired.
The autopsy report indicates he was shot five times in both the lower and upper back.
The lawsuit alleges that the deputies actions were either intentional or negligent.
The sheriff's office is conducting its own internal investigation while the two deputies have been removed from active duty - standard procedure when a deputy is involved in an on-duty death.
From there, criminal prosecutors will make a determination on whether the action was legal.
Initial reports from the sheriff's office were that the deputies only opened fire on the man after he "made movements like he had a gun" and then turned around quickly, as if to run. Why deputies would shoot him for running is unclear, especially because he was not suspected of any violent offense.
Accounts are that on the night in question he was riding in the passenger seat of his brother's vehicle. The two were leaving the quinceañera of the victim's niece and were on their way home. It was shortly before 10:30 p.m. at the time.
An officer attempted to stop the vehicle for speeding. It's unclear why the brother did not stop immediately, but in any case, the "chase" did not go on for long. The victim then got out of the vehicle.
A woman watching from across the street from her bedroom window said that the victim complied with deputies' orders to stop running. He put his hands on his head. The officers said the victim reached for his waistband. The witness didn't see that. Instead, she said, she watched as deputies fired several rounds into the victim's back.
The brother then put the car in drive again and once again sped away, causing more cruisers to give chase. He was later arrested without incident.
If you have been a victim of wrong-doing by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, contact The Okorocha Firm at 1-800-285-1763.
Additional Resources:
Family of unarmed man killed by deputies files $15-million lawsuit, April 19, 2013, By Richard Winton, The Los Angeles Times
More Blog Entries:
L.A. Police Department Lawsuits to be Probed, Vows Candidate, May 9, 2013, Los Angeles sexual harassment attorney Blog
