A Riverside couple wounded when an off-duty LAPD police officer fatally shot their developmentally disabled son has filed damages claims against the officer, the city of Los Angeles and the LAPD.
The shooting occurred at a Costco in Corona. The French family was shopping for groceries when an altercation began between their developmentally disabled son, Kenneth, and an off-duty police officer named Salvador Sanchez.
The officer’s attorney describes this as a life-threatening assault by Kenneth – the French family and their attorneys dispute that.
Sanchez opened fire and struck Kenneth and his parents Russel and Paola, who were both injured. Kenneth French was killed.
The family’s attorneys gave a press conference Monday at the Ayres Hotel in Corona, where they told reporters about the damages claims filed against Sanchez, the LAPD, and the city of Los Angeles.
Attorney Dale Galipo called for the release of the in-store surveillance video, which captured at least part of the shooting. Earlier this month, the Riverside County DA’s office obtained a court order to bar the release of the video for a year as prosecutors complete their case.
Galipo said the video should be released now.
Purper: “Why is it so important the video gets released?”
Galipo: “So that people can see the truth as to what happened, and there’s transparency. I think the idea of officers having cam videos or videos in stores and then having them say well it’s an officer-involved shooting, we’re not going to release it for a year, I don’t think it’s fair to the family, I don’t think it’s fair to the public, I think we need transparency to build trust between law enforcement and the community.”
Galipo said he’s considering filing motions in state or federal court for public release of the video.
