CA - Off Duty LAPD Officer charged in fatal shooting altercation inside Costco, Corona, June 2019 #2

[mickey2942]

At this time it seems to be easier to get justice in TX than in Ca if a cop is involved.
“He was murdered,” French’s cousin Jackie Shureih told CBS2 Wednesday. “You can’t claim self-defense if you’re shooting someone in the back from 20 feet away.”
Protesters Demand Charges For Off-Duty LAPD Officer Who Opened Fire In Corona Costco

I wish them luck. Too bad Mr. Merritt is not interested in this police shooting.

 

[MsFacetious]

I wish them luck. Too bad Mr. Merritt is not interested in this police shooting.

Someone should bring it to his attention.

 

[mickey2942]

Someone should bring it to his attention.

Mr. Merritt chooses the cases he wants to advocate. I believe that the victims have to meet a criteria.

 

[Jeremy Bentham]

I haven't been following this case on the internet but sad to see that there is no more traction here.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

Family Sues Over Shooting of Son at Corona Costco by Off-Duty LAPD Officer

From the article - bolded and italicized by me:
"The French family says they pleaded with Sanchez not to shoot, telling the officer that their son, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was largely non-verbal, had mental health issues. They also claim they were backing away from Sanchez when the shooting occurred.

Russell and Paola French were wounded by the gunfire. Corona police said earlier that Kenneth French was shot once in the shoulder and three times in the back, while Paola French was shot in the back and her husband was shot in the abdomen, resulting in the loss of a kidney.

According to the lawsuit, Sanchez identified himself as a police officer, but in a way that deterred bystanders in the store from rendering aid to the couple and their son, all of whom were bleeding profusely.

"Salvador Sanchez asserted authority over the area, preventing witnesses from providing care to plaintiffs and decedent, and Salvador Sanchez did not attempt to render aid to plaintiffs and decedent himself," the suit states.

Corona police did not detain Sanchez after he identified himself as a police officer, the suit states."

Look at those two old folks in the photo. How was any of this okay? Shooting Kenneth French AND tiny Paola in the back??? Dad losing a kidney. Sanchez reportedly intimidating people into not rendering aid, and rendering no aid himself. Sanchez not being detained.

Sanchez is still on the street with a gun, maybe? Haven't heard otherwise. Absolutely disgusting that this happened anywhere, but especially in a crowded store where many others could have been hurt.

This man should know no peace until he has owned his recklessness and rage and has worked for some redemption.

He has a baby, and frankly, I'm worried about the child's safety with this loose cannon.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

Saw in the video linked in the article that he has been on administrative leave. Assigned to his home. So there's that, anyway, though again, I'm worried about his wife and kid's safety.

Video was made prior to the lawsuit being filed, so this may have changed.

 

[SoCalDavidS]

Saw in the video linked in the article that he has been on administrative leave. Assigned to his home. So there's that, anyway, though again, I'm worried about his wife and kid's safety.

Video was made prior to the lawsuit being filed, so this may have changed.

I honestly couldn't care less about his wife and child. I'm sure she supports him fully, and chooses to be with him. I'm more concerned about innocent civilians in the community who will be impacted by his presence as a law enforcement officer. "To Serve & Protect?" LOL!! He's already taken the life of at least 1 person who crossed his path, and almost took the lives of 2 others, just for merely being in his vicinity and line of fire. And he wasn't even on duty! I fear far more for my own safety living in society with him, than his loving and doting wife, who made that choice willingly.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

I care about his child, who doesn't have any choices. And we have no idea about the dynamics of the relationship - many people live in fear of a volatile spouse, and are even more afraid of leaving. But I agree with you on worrying about other civilians.

Just think - this guy claims that he thought he was shot. An officer who definitely knows what gun shots sound like. Unless he woke up from his claimed "momentary unconsciousness" thinking these elderly folks went after him with a silencer. So, delusional? Lying? PTSD? Then decided to shoot these people in the back?

Based on the lawsuit, it sounds like he bullied & intimidated bystanders and did nothing to provide aid. He got away with this with the grand jury, and now is empowered & enabled in his aggression and delusion. Hope he's getting intensive treatment, but probably not.

 

[Jeremy Bentham]

This came out today. I don't have much faith anything's come of it though.

The Los Angeles Police Commission Wednesday unanimously adopted the police chief's recommendation to find that an off-duty LAPD officer acted outside department policy when he fatally shot a 32-year-old developmentally disabled man and injured his parents at a Costco in Corona.

Off-Duty LAPD Officer Acted Outside Department Policy in Deadly Costco Shooting, Civilian Police Panel Rules

 

[Jeremy Bentham]

Corona PD Releases Body Camera Video From Response To Fatal 2019 Shooting At Costco – CBS Los Angeles (cbslocal.com)

 

[PrairieWind]

Corona PD Releases Body Camera Video From Response To Fatal 2019 Shooting At Costco – CBS Los Angeles (cbslocal.com)

I don't think that shooting was justified from what I have seen.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

He actually did say he felt "his head get knocked off"...not his hat??? And was the baby injured in the fall? He looks like he's practically smiling, then seems affronted by being arrested. I really don't get this guy, other than the context of feeling challenged by Mr. French and way overreacting in what looks like a face-to-face tussle based on the still from the video.

 

[PrairieWind]

He actually did say he felt "his head get knocked off"...not his hat??? And was the baby injured in the fall? He looks like he's practically smiling, then seems affronted by being arrested. I really don't get this guy, other than the context of feeling challenged by Mr. French and way overreacting in what looks like a face-to-face tussle based on the still from the video.

Agree. From everything I've seen and read, I just see no way the officer could have reasonable believed he or his son was immanent serious danger. He got into a scuffle with a guy in the store and he shot him.

 

[Cryptic]

Agree. From everything I've seen and read, I just see no way the officer could have reasonable believed he or his son was immanent serious danger. He got into a scuffle with a guy in the store and he shot him.

If I was the prosecutor, I would re-submit the case to the grand jury, or proceed to trial with out an indictment (if permissible in California).

Riverside County is, by SOCAL standards, conservative and probably has more of an old west attitude about self defense than coastal counties in the area.

Even still, I think a conviction is very possible as public opinion, grand juries and juries can change quickly regarding very public shootings and self defense claims.

 

[SoCalDavidS]

Ex-LAPD officer arrested, charged in off-duty 2019 fatal shooting at Corona Costo: California A

California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday announced that his office has filed charges against a former LAPD officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man at a Costco in Corona two years ago.

Salvador Sanchez has been arrested on charges of voluntary manslaughter and assault with a semiautomatic firearm, according to a news release from the state attorney general’s office. He faces three counts total.

Sanchez was taken into custody in Riverside County Monday morning.

The action comes nearly two years after a Riverside County grand jury declined to bring charges against the former Los Angeles Police Department officer, who — according to court documents — was off duty when he fatally shot 32-year-old Kenneth French following a confrontation at the warehouse store on the night of June 14, 2019.

Ex-LAPD officer charged in deadly Corona Costco shooting

 

[PrairieWind]

It sure seemed to me that this shooting was totally unnecessary. Such a tragedy.

 

[Cryptic]

Salvador Sanchez has been arrested on charges of voluntary manslaughter and assault with a semiautomatic firearm, according to a news release from the state attorney general’s office. He faces three counts total.

Wow, this is good news.

I wonder if the overall jury pool will tend to favor the defendant or be opposed to him?

The facts that he was not indicted would seem to heavily favor the defendant. At the same time, I am thinking that the location of the shooting can be a key factor.

"Costco" is not a strip joint, the site of a wild party, or a iffy bar (all places that many people avoid). Rather, Costco is frequented shoppers of the broadly defined middle class.

Though nobody wants themselves or their family members assaulted at Costco, the prevailing line of thought could also be:

I, my family and my neighbors all shop there. If you open up with 10 rounds of the proverbial 9mm fire at Costco (and thus place me and mine at risk of being hit), you had better have a very good reason for doing so- not just a excusable reason for doing so.

 

[apricotpeach]

Do any of the news articles mentions whether Sanchez was fired from the LAPD or resigned? I know the LAPD chief and the police commission issued reports that essentially said he violated departmental policy in the way in which he fired his weapon and conducted himself (and could face disciplinary action).

The police commission's report is interesting to read because it goes into the other aspects of the incident (other than the obvious shooting itself), like the fact that the Fire Dept couldn't enter the store immediately to render aid because they believed it was an active shooter incident.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

Ex-LAPD officer arrested, charged in off-duty 2019 fatal shooting at Corona Costo: California A

California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday announced that his office has filed charges against a former LAPD officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man at a Costco in Corona two years ago.

Salvador Sanchez has been arrested on charges of voluntary manslaughter and assault with a semiautomatic firearm, according to a news release from the state attorney general’s office. He faces three counts total.

Sanchez was taken into custody in Riverside County Monday morning.

The action comes nearly two years after a Riverside County grand jury declined to bring charges against the former Los Angeles Police Department officer, who — according to court documents — was off duty when he fatally shot 32-year-old Kenneth French following a confrontation at the warehouse store on the night of June 14, 2019.

Ex-LAPD officer charged in deadly Corona Costco shooting

It's about darned time. With his talk about a loud crack and "I felt my head get knocked off" (???), one might think PTSD - understandable in an officer, especially since around that time, a CA officer was shot in the head in a fast-food line. But this guy gives off sneering, drama-queen, bully vibes in the video. Moreover, he doesn't seem a bit remorseful or even shaken, given that he didn't just shoot the guy he was fighting, but also a tiny old woman and man. So I'm looking forward to learning what's up with him.

 

[Cryptic]

Do any of the news articles mentions whether Sanchez was fired from the LAPD or resigned?

I dont know.

Likewise, though I understand your point regarding the apparent depth of his failure to follow department policies, the difference between "resigning" and "firing" can very blurry.

For example, it could include the person resigning on Friday because he knew he would be fired on Monday. Thus, even if the article(s) say "resigned", it may not mean that he resigned in the true sense of the word.