LA Ordered To Pay $17M In Off-Duty Cop Shooting At Costco

LOS ANGELES, CA — The City of Los Angeles and a former Los Angeles Police Department officer were ordered to pay a family $17 million for the officer's off-duty shooting of a developmentally disabled man at a Corona Costco in 20019. On Wednesday, a federal jury determined the former officer was acting in the scope of his employment, making the city culpable for his actions.

Following Wednesday's verdict, Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office said city officials are considering options for appealing the verdict.

The jury awarded the damages to Russell and Paola French, the parents of 32-year-old Kenneth French. Off-duty LAPD officer Salvador Sanchez shot and killed Kenneth French over a confrontation at a Costco food sample station. His parents were also wounded in the shooting on June 14, 2019.

Sanchez still faces criminal charges in the shooting. He is awaiting trial on charges of voluntary manslaughter and assault with a semiautomatic firearm. Though Riverside County prosecutors declined to file any charges in the case, the state Attorney General's Office opted to pursue a case following a review of the shooting.

Portions of the shooting and its aftermath were capture by the store's security cameras. According to investigators, Kenneth French and Sanchez were waiting at a sausage sample table inside the Corona Costco store when French, without provocation, punched or shoved Sanchez from behind, causing him to fall on the floor.

Sanchez was holding his year-old son in his arms when he was shoved to the ground, causing him to fear his son's safety, according to his attorney. Sanchez claimed he briefly lost consciousness. When he came to, he opened fire, contending that French was still hovering over him.

French was fatally shot, and his parents were both wounded. 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 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.

Sanchez was fired by the department last year after the city Police Commission determined that he acted outside department policy in the shooting.

The bulk of the $17 million verdict will be borne by the city.

"The family is pleased with the verdict and grateful to the jury and hopeful that this could bring some sense of justice for Kenneth and start the healing process for their injuries and his loss," Galipo told City News Service.

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