The award, totaling $17,002,000, included $3 million to Kenneth French’s estate for loss of life and $1 million for pre-death pain and suffering $1 million to Paola French for pain and suffering, $1 million for past emotional distress and $1 million for future emotional distress and $1,041,000 to Russell French for past economic loss, $1 million for past pain and suffering, $1 million for future pain and suffering and $1 million for future emotional distress.ĭamage awards for wrongful death totaled $2 million. City Attorney’s Office, said, “Our office will review all our options including appeal.” He declined to elaborate on what grounds the city might seek to file an appeal. Their ruling that Sanchez was acting in his role as an officer wasn’t directly related to the amount they awarded the Frenches, Galipo said, but ensured that the city would be held responsible and provided a source for the payment of such a large amount. Sanchez was hired to protect and serve the citizens of the City of Los Angeles, not engage in personal conflicts while on a personal shopping trip in a different city and county altogether,” the city’s attorneys wrote. The underlying act was not of a kind that Sanchez was hired to perform. “Sanchez committed his charged crimes out of personal malice unconnected with his employment. The city, in arguing for dismissal of the lawsuit, said it should not be held liable for Sanchez’s actions because he was not acting on behalf of the LAPD at the time of the shooting, according to a brief filed with the court. Witnesses reported seeing Sanchez reach to the back of his head multiple times to look for blood, Hestrin said, noting that Sanchez’s claim of being knocked unconscious was not supported by any evidence.Both the Corona Police Department and LAPD investigated the case as an officer-involved shooting. The gunfire prompted chaos inside the warehouse as terrified shoppers rushed to leave while police officers - who also believed there was an active shooter - ran inside. Seconds later, prosecutors said, Sanchez fired 10 rounds from his handgun, believing his life and his son’s life were in immediate danger from an active shooter.įour bullets struck French in the back and shoulder, one struck his mother in the stomach and another hit his father in the back, Corona police Chief George Johnstone said. Sanchez, holding his 1 1/2-year-old son, was standing in line for food samples with his wife when French, without warning or provocation, knocked Sanchez and the child to the ground. Investigators relied on a single, poor-quality surveillance video and witness testimony - some of which had to be compelled through subpoenas. The encounter in the Corona warehouse store spanned just 3.8 seconds. The officer remains on paid administrative leave as the LAPD conducts an inquiry into whether Sanchez followed department policies. “Sal believed he was shot,” Salzman said. Salzman said Sanchez did not testify before the grand jury but had given evidence to the district attorney’s office regarding his state of mind and subsequent medical records showing a concussion. Ira Salzman, Sanchez’s lawyer, said his client was “gratified” to hear he won’t be charged. 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. “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. “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. 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 - 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.
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