![]() ![]() He said he believes prosecutors only took the case to a grand jury to appease the community and may not have pushed hard enough to persuade the jurors. A federal jury in Riverside awarded 17 million in damages to the family of a mentally disabled man who was fatally shot by an off-duty LAPD officer inside a Costco in Corona in 2019. “This case has weighed heavily on us.”ĭale Galipo, an attorney for the French family, said he was “disappointed but not surprised” by the development. French and wounded his parents inside a Corona, California, Costco in 2019. “In a case like this, it’s appropriate for the community to weigh in,” Hestrin said at a news conference about the grand jury deliberations. California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday announced felony voluntary. Sanchez, a seven-year veteran of the LAPD, opened fire June 14, killing 32-year-old Kenneth French and critically injuring his parents, Russell and Paola French. Hestrin said his office would not bring its own charges against Sanchez in the wake of the grand jury decision. In announcing a grand jury’s findings, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said Officer Salvador Sanchez believed he had been shot in the head and a shooter was on the loose when he and his son were knocked to the ground in the unprovoked assault. LOS ANGELES (AP) - An off-duty Los Angeles police officer will not be charged for fatally shooting a mentally ill man who had attacked him and his young son from behind in a California Costco, prosecutors said Wednesday. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. Sanchez is on paid administrative leave as the LAPD investigates whether he followed department policies.įrench, 32, had been taken off his medication because of other health complications, which may have affected his behavior that night, Galipo has said.This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. The Los Angeles Police Department doesn't comment on open litigation, Officer Jeff Lee said. The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office will review the complaint, spokesman Rob Wilcox said. “There should not be special privileges given to police officers, and we believe he was given many special privileges after this shooting,” said the French's attorney, Dale Galipo. He also was allowed to review surveillance footage from inside the store before being interviewed by detectives, and he was allowed to accompany Los Angeles police investigators on a walk-through of the Costco days after the shooting to explain his actions, the filing said. Kenneth and Paola also were shot in the back.īecause Sanchez identified himself repeatedly as a police officer to law enforcement agencies that responded, he was not arrested, according to the court filing. The lawsuit says the Frenches posed no threat to Sanchez because they were moving away from him when he opened fire, which is supported by Costco video. The cavernous Corona store was packed, and customers waited in line for food samples the quintessential Costco experience. ![]() Russell and Paola French told Sanchez that their son struggled with mental illness and pleaded with him not to shoot, but he did anyway, according to the court filing. Salzman didn't immediately respond to an email and phone call Wednesday seeking comment on the lawsuit. ![]() Sanchez opened fire, believing his life and his son's life were in immediate danger from an active shooter, Sanchez's lawyer, Ira Salzman, has said. Sanchez, holding his 1½-year-old son, was standing in line for food samples with his wife when French, without warning or provocation, knocked the officer and the child to the ground. The encounter in the store in Corona lasted just 3.8 seconds. The lawsuit seeks unspecified wrongful-death damages, compensatory damages for personal injury and punitive damages over what it says are violations of state civil rights statutes. “We are still fighting for our health and will not stop fighting for justice.” “Our lives will never be the same and the holidays are completely empty without Kenneth,” the parents said in a statement announcing the civil rights lawsuit. His parents, Russell and Paola French, were seriously wounded. Prosecutors declined to charge Officer Salvador Sanchez for the June 14 shooting that killed Kenneth French. LOS ANGELES - The family of a mentally ill man who was shot and killed by an off-duty Los Angeles police officer inside a Costco store sued the officer and the city on Wednesday.
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