Civil Rights/Police Brutality Cases Attorney in Manhattan Beach, California

Case Results: Police Misconduct Cases

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We represent the father and brother of a young Trader Joe’s employee, who was shot by LAPD back in July of this year. The police had started to pursue this man, who had had problems, and been involved in domestic violence, and in a shooting at his home during the afternoon, and they pursued the man for over 45 minutes and the car that he was in crashed at the edge of the Trader Joe’s building. He got out of the car and in less than four seconds ran from the car into the store. The police officers, who were chasing him, pulled up behind the car, jumped out of the car, and from more than 150 feet away shot towards him, but into the open front of the store, putting at risk the people in the store, people who were on the sidewalk, people who were leaving the store. It was a Saturday afternoon at 2:00PM. The police shot the manager of the store, who was coming to the front of the store to tell employees to stay back from where the car accident happened. We’re in the process now of trying to get the LAPD to turn over the dash camera footage and the body camera footage from the officers that were involved in the shooting, and involved in the pursuit, because from what’s been released so far this shooting was an out of policy shooting. The officers were poorly trained, used bad judgement, used deadly force at a time when they never should have done that and they put a number of people at risk and sadly caused this young woman her life. The father and the brother are absolutely devastated. They’re crushed. This girl was the glue that held that family together and we’re going to go learn and get answers for them as to what happened, why it happened.

One of the big challenges in trying cases against police officers is that juries, all of us, we like the police. We look to the police to protect us. We look for the police to do the right thing, but when they’ve been either poorly trained or when they don’t follow the training they’re given their use of their guns, their use of deadly force is something that the jury has to police the police, and ultimately that’s the question we always ask the jury to do is who will police the police. You’ve got to say whether or not this is acceptable in your community.

Los Angeles, CA personal injury attorney John Taylor talks about a police shooting that happened where the officers exercised poor judgement. He explains that we are currently representing the father and brother of a young Trader Joe’s employee who was tragically shot by the LAPD in July of this year. The police had initiated pursuit of this individual, who had a history of problems including domestic violence and involvement in a shooting at his home earlier that afternoon. The pursuit lasted over 45 minutes, culminating in a crash at the Trader Joe’s building. Within seconds, the man exited the crashed vehicle and ran into the store. The police officers chasing him quickly arrived, exited their vehicle, and, from a distance of over 150 feet, fired their weapons towards him, endangering the individuals inside the store, pedestrians on the sidewalk, and those leaving the store. This incident occurred on a Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM.

Tragically, the store manager, who was attempting to instruct employees to stay away from the area of the car accident, was shot by the police. Currently, we are in the process of demanding the release of the dash camera footage and body camera footage from the officers involved in the pursuit and shooting. The limited information released thus far suggests that this shooting was in violation of police policy. The officers involved displayed poor judgment, utilized deadly force when it was unnecessary, and put numerous lives at risk, ultimately resulting in the loss of this young woman’s life. The father and brother of the victim are devastated and overwhelmed. She played a pivotal role in holding their family together, and we are committed to uncovering the truth and obtaining answers regarding the events that led to her tragic death.

One of the significant challenges in litigating cases against police officers is the innate trust and respect we have for law enforcement. We rely on the police to protect us and to uphold justice. However, when officers are poorly trained or fail to adhere to their training regarding the use of firearms and deadly force, it becomes imperative for juries to assess and scrutinize their actions. Juries are asked to take on the role of “policing the police” and determining whether such actions are acceptable within their community.

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