![]() “There should not be special privileges given to police officers, and we believe he was given many special privileges after this shooting,” said the French’s attorney, Dale Galipo. He also was allowed to review surveillance footage from inside the store before being interviewed by detectives, and he was allowed to accompany Los Angeles police investigators on a walk-through of the Costco days after the shooting to explain his actions, the filing said. Kenneth and Paola also were shot in the back.īecause Sanchez identified himself repeatedly as a police officer to law enforcement agencies that responded, he was not arrested, according to the court filing. ![]() The lawsuit says the Frenches posed no threat to Sanchez because they were moving away from him when he opened fire, which is supported by Costco video. Russell and Paola French told Sanchez that their son struggled with mental illness and pleaded with him not to shoot, but he did anyway, according to the court filing. Salzman didn’t immediately respond to an email and phone call Wednesday seeking comment on the lawsuit. Sanchez opened fire, believing his life and his son’s life were in immediate danger from an active shooter, Sanchez’s lawyer, Ira Salzman, has said. Sanchez, holding his 1½-year-old son, was standing in line for food samples with his wife when French, without warning or provocation, knocked the officer and the child to the ground. The encounter in the store in Corona lasted just 3.8 seconds. Our deepest condolences to the French Family.The lawsuit seeks unspecified wrongful-death damages, compensatory damages for personal injury and punitive damages over what it says are violations of state civil rights statutes. We know that the acts of a few do not represent the whole, which is why we hope law enforcement agencies throughout the state will equally reach out to The Arc and other disability organizations to learn more about our community and how we can work together to make the community safer for people with all types of disabilities. The Arc of California has made it a priority to build relationships with the law enforcement community, including promoting The Arc’s Pathways To Justice initiative, and sponsoring SB 338, which was signed into law with support from the law enforcement community and will create a detailed plan for law enforcement to prevent and respond to victimization of people with disabilities. Kenneth’s death is a senseless tragedy that magnifies the troubling divide between the disability community and law enforcement as well as the urgent need for officer training related to disability and the use of de-escalation techniques. Regardless of disability type – intellectual, developmental, physical or mental health – people have a right to be in the community without fear of being shot because they cannot or do not respond to law enforcement in a certain or expected manner. Some statistics suggest that between one third and one half of fatal law enforcement encounters involve a person with a disability. The statistics are frightening as they relate to the high rate of fatal encounters between law enforcement and people with disabilities. We cannot continue to lose members of our community as a result of the criminalization of disability. ![]() Without accountability, this tragedy reconfirms a message our community hears far too often: that this behavior is acceptable and excusable because it was a person with a disability who did not “respond” appropriately. That this is somehow the only choice, when Kenneth was unarmed and his parents were reportedly telling the officer that their son has a disability and begging the officer not to shoot, is absurdity. Causing additional concern is the statement made by the officer’s attorney that the officer had “no choice but to use deadly force”. ![]() Among the most pressing of the concerns is the immediate use of deadly force within a few seconds of an initial altercation with Kenneth. Given the information that is known to the public, the failure to indict Officer Sanchez on criminal charges raises several questions and concerns for the disability community. After several months of investigation, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office made an announcement on Septemthat they declined to bring charges against Officer Sanchez stating that a Riverside County grand jury decided that criminal charges against the officer were not warranted. His parents were also shot and wounded in the altercation. On JKenneth French, a young man with disabilities, was shot and killed by an off-duty LAPD officer while shopping with his family at a Costco in Corona, California.
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