Jury awards family of man killed by off-duty LAPD officer $17 million in damages

Russell French, right, announces in August 2019 that he and his wife, Paola, who is seated, were suing the city of Los Angeles and former LAPD Officer Salvador Sanchez over Sanchez’s fatal shooting of their son, Kenneth French, inside a Costco in Corona. The photo at left shows Kenneth French in 2014 with his parents, who were also shot by Sanchez.(Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

by: Los Angeles Times

Posted: Oct 27, 2021 / 07:30 PM PDT

Updated: Oct 27, 2021 / 11:07 PM PDT

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A federal jury awarded $17 million in damages on Wednesday to the family of a mentally disabled man who was fatally shot by an off-duty Los Angeles police officer inside a Costco in Corona.

The jury’s verdict came a day after U.S. District Judge Jesus G. Bernal found that Officer Salvador Sanchez used excessive and unreasonable force in June 2019 when he shot and killed 32-year-old Kenneth French. The shooting followed a brief confrontation between the two men in line to sample sausages.

Sanchez, who was fired last year, is awaiting trial on manslaughter and assault charges filed by the California attorney general’s office after a Riverside County grand jury declined to indict him a few months after the killing.

The L.A. Police Commission found that he violated department policy in the shooting of French and his parents, who were seriously wounded.

Read the full story at LATimes.com.