Shots in Costco: The family of a killed man asks an officer not to shoot

At an emotional press conference Monday, the parents of a man with schizophrenia who was shot dead by a Los Angeles police officer in a Costco in Corona recounted that he had begged the officer not to open fire after taking out his weapon and to be identified as police.

Kenneth French, 32, was killed in the shooting on June 14. His parents, Paola and Russell French, were seriously injured.

"I was arguing for our son and our lives, but I still got a bullet in the back. What threat did I pose to him? Said Paola French.

The bullet went through his back and came out of his stomach, said human rights lawyer Dale K. Galipo, who represents the family. The shooting left her in a coma for an extended period. She has undergone seven surgeries and is expected to undergo others.

"After hearing the officer [Salvador] Sanchez identifying himself as a policeman, I begged and told him not to shoot, "said Russell French. "I said," We do not have guns and my son is sick. "He still shot. I thought people do not do that.

Russell received a bullet in the abdomen and also underwent several surgeries, including one to remove his kidney, according to a legal complaint filed on behalf of the family. He and his wife now need comprehensive health care at home, says the request.

The complaint, which precedes a lawsuit, quotes the city of Los Angeles, the LAPD and the officer, Salvador Sanchez.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office said the agency would review the complaint and make no further comments. A spokesperson for the LAPD declined to comment.

Two different stories of the shooting have emerged.

Galipo provided a detailed description of what the family thinks they have arrived at the store. They were not able to see the video surveillance of the incident, but Mr. Galipo said he spoke to people who had seen it. He also saw a mobile phone video that appears to have been taken following the shooting, Galipo said.

The family was in Costco for Father's Day and stayed there for about 30-40 minutes when she stopped at a booth to sample sausages, Galipo said. At one point, Kenneth had a physical altercation with the police officer, who was holding a child. Paola French said she thought Kenneth French had pushed or pushed the officer, Galipo said. Other witnesses described Kenneth
hit the officer.

Galipo said that he did not think the officer had fainted, although some witnesses claimed that he had perhaps been thrown to the ground.

"We think he's not lost consciousness," Galipo said. "All his actions, belittle the baby … saying that he is a police officer [are] not the actions of someone who has been knocked out. "

When the man identified himself as a police officer, the parents began to ask him not to shoot.

"Despite their calls not to shoot, he fired several times," said Galipo.

Kenneth French's schizophrenia prevented him from communicating verbally, and his injuries included bullets in the back, Galipo said.

Although Sanchez was not on duty, the statement asserts that he was acting as a Los Angeles police officer because he identified himself as such just before the shooting and fired his shots. weapon provided by his department. The French family posed no risk of serious injury or death to the police officer, and he did not warn the police before resorting to lethal force, the case says.

"I would say that there is evidence to support the assassination in this case," Galipo said.

A Sanchez lawyer stated that his client had been assaulted from behind and that he was acting with a "reasonable belief" that he was being assaulted and that his life was in danger.

"It was not a small push – it was a serious aggression," Ira Salzman said Monday. "My client suffered a concussion."

He said that Sanchez was also acting out of fear for his own young son, whom he held at the time of the altercation.

"It's a terrible tragedy to have two well-intentioned good parents trying to help their children," Salzman said. "My client acted in self-defense and the result was sad and tragic, but he did not commit any crime and did nothing to deserve civil damages."

The Riverside County Attorney's Office, which received the Corona Police case in late June, is determining whether to charge the police officer. The LAPD is currently conducting an administrative review.

Although some parts of the incident were captured by Costco security cameras, the videos were not made public.

After the Times requested a copy of the monitoring sequence, prosecutors sought a court order to prevent its publication and a judge complied. It is now forbidden for the police to broadcast images for one year from the date of shooting.

The burial of Kenneth French, which has been postponed to the release of his two parents from the hospital, is scheduled for Friday.