“Sal Sanchez was holding his baby when he was violently attacked and knocked to the ground along with his baby,” Winslow said in a statement. However, the state Attorney General charged Sanchez in August 2021 with voluntary manslaughter and two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.ĭavid Winslow, an attorney who represented Sanchez in the LAPD’s administrative investigation that culminated in his dismissal in July 2020, said in August that Sanchez was not guilty of any crime. “It was the type of case where the community needs to weigh in and draw the lines,” Hestrin said at the time. Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin could have decided whether to file criminal charges but instead gave the case to the Grand Jury, which in September 2019 declined to indict Sanchez. Some agencies do not allow the practice, Galipo said.Ī message was left with LAPD on Thursday asking officials whether their policy has changed since or because of the Costco shooting. Galipo said he hoped the verdict would encourage law enforcement agencies to review and change their policies on allowing off-duty officers to carry and use firearms.

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. Court records show that Sanchez, after falling, identified himself as a police officer before and after he fired 10 shots, first hitting Paola French, then Russell French as they attempted to shield their son from gunfire.īoth the Corona Police Department and LAPD investigated the case as an officer-involved shooting. Those issues included whether Sanchez, who was not in uniform, acted in his role as an LAPD officer. Galipo said he successfully urged Bernal to make that ruling in advance of jury deliberations because “the evidence was so overwhelming on the use of force … and let the jury decide the other issues.” Bernal ruled on Tuesday, according to his written jury instructions. Sanchez used “excessive and unreasonable force and was negligent” when he fired, U.S. “They are very pleased with the verdict and thankful to the jury, and they feel some sense of justice achieved for Kenneth, and the hope this verdict will assist in the healing process,” Galipo said.

Costco corona hou4s