The off-duty officer will not face charges, prosecutors announced on September 25, 2019. The Los Angeles Times has named the officer Salvador Sanchez. The official police statement claims that the officer opened fire because he was “assaulted.” Earlier accounts had indicated that an argument erupted in the store, although it’s not clear between whom. Family members of the Frenches have spoken out on social media, raising questions about the shooting. That was a surprising turn of events in the shooting that left French dead and two of his relatives wounded and sent panicked shoppers running for the exits. It now turns out that the only person who fired a weapon in Costco that night was the off-duty Los Angeles police officer. An upset family member is questioning why the officer needed to open fire in a busy store, shooting French and two of his family members. Kenneth French, a 32-year-old Riverside man who was described as gentle and non-verbal, was the person who was killed when an off-duty police officer opened fire inside the Costco Warehouse store in Corona, California. Witnesses reported seeing an argument between two people near a freezer section when shots rang out at least six times.Kenneth French (l) with his parents Russell and Paola French. The shooting prompted a stampede of frightened shoppers, some who fled the store as others sought cover inside. “People start filling in the timelines for you” in the meantime, he said. While it’s not unusual for police to delay releasing information such as an officer’s name in a shooting for safety reasons, Giacalone said it’s important to get details out as quickly as possible. Giacalone said video footage from Costco’s cameras and shoppers’ cellphones will be critical to the dual investigations. Police have not said if French had any weapons or if the officer identified himself as police before firing. “If the guy pulled out a pocketknife and approaches him, game over,” Giacalone said Sunday. Joseph Giacalone, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a retired New York City Police Department sergeant, said it’s justifiable to use deadly force even in a crowded store if the attacker has a weapon. The department’s policies allow off-duty officers to carry concealed weapons as long as they are authorized for on-duty use, according to the LAPD manual. He was treated and released at a nearby hospital and his child was not injured. The officer’s identity has not been released. Los Angeles Police Commission President Steve Soboroff said Sunday it is Chief Michel Moore’s decision whether to put the officer on leave, but it remained unclear if that happened. ![]() Corona police and the district attorney’s office did not respond to requests for comment Sunday. The LAPD said Sunday it had no further information. The LAPD will continue its internal probe as Corona police and the Riverside County district attorney’s office conduct a separate investigation into the shooting. ![]() Truth will come out! I’m sure this was a misunderstanding that got escalated for no reason!” ![]() ![]() “This is a family that was unarmed and was just grocery shopping. “I’m posting this picture because the stories on social media have made them out to be the suspects, and the off duty cop the victim,” Shureih wrote. Shureih posted Sunday on his Facebook page a photo of French and his parents. “He’s not the kind to trade words, so I don’t believe that a verbal confrontation happened,” Shureih said. Authorities have not released their names.įrench’s family is seeking an attorney, Shureih said and declined to give specifics about his mental condition.įrench was “non-violent, non-aggressive, non-verbal,” his cousin said, and “he has to be pretty much monitored.” Shureih also identified the other two victims as French’s parents, Russell and Paola French, and said they remained in an intensive care unit Sunday. Rick Shureih, French’s cousin, told The Press-Enterprise that he was a “gentle giant” who was mentally disabled.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |