Former LAPD Officer Charged In Off-Duty Costco Shooting

LOS ANGELES, CA — More than two years after an off-duty Los Angeles Police Officer shot and killed a developmentally disabled man during an altercation at a sample station in Corona Costco, he was arrested Monday on suspicion of voluntary manslaughter and assault with a semiautomatic firearm.

Salvador Sanchez, now a former LAPD officer, was arrested in Riverside County in connection with the June 14, 2019 death of 32-year-old Kenneth French, the Attorney General's Office announced. Monday's arrest marks an abrupt departure from the Riverside district attorney's previous handling of the case.

Three months after the killing, a Riverside County grand jury declined to indict Sanchez, and Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said he would abide by the grand jury's decision and not pursue a case. But the state Attorney General's Office agreed to review the shooting, leading to Monday's arrest.

"Where there's reason to believe a crime has been committed, we will seek justice," Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. "That's exactly what these charges are about: pursuing justice after an independent and thorough review of the evidence and the law. Ultimately, any loss of life is a tragedy and being licensed to carry a gun doesn't mean you're not accountable for how you use it. No matter who you are, nobody is above the law."

"The District Attorney’s Office has, and will continue to, work with the Attorney General’s Office to assist them in this prosecution," Hestrin's office said in a written statement Monday. "The District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation assisted in obtaining an arrest warrant prior to the filing of the current charges by the Attorney General."

Almost immediately, the shooting generated controversy. According to Corona police, the then-off-duty officer was shopping at Costco with his family, holding his child in his arms, when, "without provocation, a male unknown to the officer's family assaulted the officer."

Sanchez claimed that he feared for his life and that of his baby, but French's parents disputed the narrative and claimed that the store's security cameras would show that their son, who was nonverbal, did not put anyone's life in danger. French's parents, Russell and Paola, were also wounded in the shooting.

According to investigators, the Frenches were shopping when they approached a food-sample table with sausages. Sanchez was also at the sample table, holding his son, officials said. The French family and their attorney, Dale Galipo, have conceded that Kenneth French shoved Sanchez to the ground for unknown reasons.

According to the officer's attorney, David Winslow, Sanchez briefly lost consciousness, and when he awoke, he was on the ground and his 18-month- old son was next to him screaming. Winslow said the officer "had no choice but to use deadly force."

The French family has clamed 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.

The store security footage does little to shed light on the contradictory accounts of the seconds leading up to the deadly encounter. It appears to show two men falling to the floor. It is not clear if there was a shove or gunfire that caused the men to fall. Crowds of shoppers could be seen in panicked flight. Enhanced footage of the shooting does little to clear up the sequence of events nor corroborate either account of the shooting.

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.

The Los Angeles Police Commission later determined that Sanchez acted outside department policy by drawing his weapon and using deadly force. LAPD Chief Michel Moore's report on the incident stated the officer felt as if he'd been "shot" after being struck by French. When Sanchez looked back at French, the officer said it appeared French may have been holding a firearm, although one was not recovered in French's possession.

The French family expressed outrage over the grand jury decision not to indict the lawman in 2019.

"We are extremely heartbroken," Russell French, the father of Kenneth French, told reporters during a news briefing at the Ayres Suites in Corona. "This is another blow to our family. We have lost faith in the U.S. justice system."

His wife, Paola, broke down in tears while speaking, saying the policeman, Salvador Sanchez, "clearly saw we were unarmed. He was wrong to fire 10 shots at our family."

She remembered her eldest son as "extremely caring and kind."

"It's such a sad end," she said tearfully. "We lost him. As a mom, this is the worst case. I wouldn't wish this on anyone."

French's parents sued the city of Los Angeles and Sanchez. The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges battery, negligence, civil rights violations and both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Galipo, the French family attorney, called the shooting "a complete overreaction on behalf of this police officer."

"There have been thousands of officer-involved shootings, and not one police officer has been prosecuted," the attorney said in 2019. "That's one reason why there are so many shootings. If this had been anyone other than a police officer, that individual would've been arrested and charged in 48 hours."

He said he could not understand how "someone can fire 10 shots at unarmed people, wounding them in the back, and the jury could not indict on a single charge?"

However, Hestrin, the DA, denied Sanchez has been favored with "special treatment" because he's a cop.

"I would file charges if I thought there was a problem with the process," he said when announcing his decision not to file charges in 2019. "All the evidence we had was presented to the grand jury. I stand by their decision."

This is viewed as an officer-involved shooting," he said at the time. "Police officers have to respond (to an attack) as if they're on duty."

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.