A judge has blocked the release of surveillance video showing the fatal shooting of a man by an off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer at a Costco in Corona earlier this year, the LAPD announced on Monday.
The video will be kept from the public and the media until a decision has been made on whether criminal charges will be filed, a Riverside Superior Court judge ruled.
Release of the video could interfere with the ongoing criminal investigation and could result in harm to the suspect “due to the graphic nature of the video and the significant public attention on the shooting,” the court documents read.
The shooting, which occurred on June 14, took place at the Costco store located in the 400 block of North McKinley Street.
Off-duty LAPD officer Salvador Sanchez was shopping with his family and holding his young son when he was attacked by Kenneth Russell French, 32, according to an earlier news release from the Corona Police Department.
The attack resulted in Sanchez, a seven-year patrol officer in the Southwest Division, firing his weapon.
French was struck by the gunfire and pronounced dead shortly after the shooting.
French had a mental disability and was off his medication when he pushed or slapped the officer, family attorney Dale Galipo said a few days after the shooting.
French’s father was trying to explain that his son had a mental disability when the officer opened fire, killing the 32-year-old and critically injuring his parents, Galipo said.
Russell and Paola French were still in the hospital as of July 3 but were considered stable, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The ongoing criminal investigation is being handled by the Corona Police Department.