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Buyers of a Southern California Costco can be seen sheltering as the gunshots sound earlier this year in a video released Wednesday, as prosecutors announced that the police officer on leave involved in the shooting on June 14 would not be charged.
The shootout occurred when Los Angeles police officer Salvador Sanchez opened fire, killing Kenneth French, 32, and seriously injuring his parents, Russell and Paola French. Sanchez reportedly said he opened fire because he thought he was being attacked by Frenchmen while he was holding his child.
On Wednesday, a federal grand jury refused to bring charges against Sanchez and Riverside County attorney Mike Hestrin said his office would not be laying his own charges against the officer.
At a press conference, Hestrin said Sanchez thought he had been shot in the head and that a gunman was free when his son and he were hit on the ground during the assault not provoked.
After firing, four bullets hit French on the back and on the shoulder, one hit his mother in the stomach and another to his father, said Corona police chief George Johnstone.
COSTCO SHOOTING: AN OFFICER OFF THE PERSON WILL NOT BE FRESH
The meeting in the Corona warehouse lasted only 3.8 seconds. The jury was presented with a poor quality surveillance video and the testimony of several witnesses, some of whom had been summoned.
Salvador Sanchez and Kenneth French, a police officer on leave from Los Angeles, can be seen fighting before the shooting.
(LAPD)
In the video released by the prosecutors, the two men can wrestle at the back of the store, near the place where the roast chicken was placed, before both fall to the ground.
Costco buyers can be seen sheltering after gunshots have been fired.
(LAPD)
The gunshots resounding, customers from all over the warehouse have sought refuge, many abandoning baskets and hiding in other aisles.
COSTCO TORTOISE IN CALIFORNIA HAS BEGUN WHEN THE COP WAS UNCONSCIOUS WHILE HOLDING HIS SON, SAYS LAWYER
Ira Salzman, Sanchez's lawyer, said his client was "satisfied" to learn that he would not be charged. Salzman said that Sanchez had not testified before the grand jury but had testified before the prosecutor's office about his state of mind and subsequent medical records showing a concussion.
"Sal believed that he had been shot," said Salzman. "The case was a terrible tragedy."
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Dale Galipo, a lawyer for the French family, said "disappointed but not surprised" by the changing situation. He added that he thought prosecutors had only seized the case as a grand jury to appease the community and might not have pushed hard enough to convince the jurors.
The French family has filed a lawsuit against Sanchez and the LAPD, and their lawyer has announced plans to file a complaint with the federal government next month.
The LAPD is also conducting an administrative investigation to determine whether Sanchez had followed the policies of the ministry.
Vandana Rambaran of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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