The city of Los Angeles will pay nearly $40 million to settle three lawsuits alleging abuses by the LAPD, including a case brought by the family of a Trader Joe’s manager who was accidentally killed by a police officer who shot a fleeing suspect.
Melyda “Mely” Corado was shot and killed in 2018 at the Silver Lake store where she worked. His father and brother are suing the city and the officers involved in the shooting, alleging that they accidentally opened their store to a crowded store.
The $9.5 million settlement with the Corado family, previously discussed but not yet disclosed, is the smallest of three payments the City Council approved on Friday.
The others are:
- $17.7 million for the family of Kenneth French, a 32-year-old mentally disabled man who was fatally shot by an off-duty LAPD officer at a Costco store in Corona in June 2019.
- $11.8 million for James Simpson, who suffered a traumatic brain injury after being hit by a fallen traffic signal pole in an accident caused by an LAPD detective who ran a red light.
The board unanimously approved all three settlements.
In a statement released through their attorney, Corado’s family members said they will “keep her memory alive.”
“No one will bring Mely back to us and we are deeply saddened by the violent death caused by those who were meant to protect and serve the community,” the statement said. “We hope this settlement sends a loud message to the LAPD and all law enforcement agencies across the country that officers must consider their surroundings when they fire their guns.”
The family’s attorney called the settlement the largest pretrial payout in an LAPD shooting case.
“Mely’s death could have been prevented if the officers had followed their training and disclosed their background when they were fired,” said lawyer Neil Gehlawat. “Officers should look at the dangers they pose when they use deadly force, and the officers here did not.”
Corado was shot and killed on July 21, 2018, while two LAPD officers were chasing Gene Evin Atkins, who allegedly shot his grandmother and her boyfriend and then took a younger woman hostage. Atkins led the police on a long chase in his grandmother’s car, which, while being picked up by officers, ran a red light and collided with several vehicles, prosecutors alleged.
The chase ended at Trader Joe’s on Hyperion Avenue. Atkins stopped the car and ran into the store, which was bustling with Saturday afternoon shoppers.
Atkins fired at the officers, who returned fire as he entered the store. One of the officers’ bullets struck Corado, killing him. Atkins was wounded in the arm, but he held shoppers and employees inside the store for three hours before surrendering. The trial was adjourned.
The LAPD was criticized for shooting bystanders, which at the time Chief Michel Moore described as “every officer’s worst nightmare.”
In France’s case, the $17.7 million payment is roughly the same as that awarded by a federal jury in 2021 after Officer Salvador Sanchez was found to have used excessive and unreasonable force. Sanchez, who was later fired, was off duty when he and France got into a confrontation in line for a sausage sample.
Sanchez’s attorney claimed during the federal hearing that he was thrown to the ground during the encounter and believed that French was armed. Sanchez’s round killed the Frenchman and wounded his mother and father.
The LA Police Commission found that Sanchez violated department policy. Sanchez also faced charges of murder and felonious assault, but the prosecution ended in a mistrial earlier this year. Calls to the French family’s attorney were not returned Friday.
Simpson is suing the city after suffering multiple injuries when LAPD Det. Alex Pozo ran a red light in Chino while driving a city vehicle in August 2020. The SUV driver swerved to avoid a collision with Pozo and hit a traffic pole, which fell on top of Simpson, 70, as he walked. sidewalk.
The City Council voted not to approve a settlement for an LAPD sergeant who sued after being repeatedly disciplined over controversial posts on his personal Facebook and Instagram accounts. The sergeant, Joel Sydanmaa, accused the LAPD of singling him out for punishment because he expressed an unpopular political viewpoint.
“We reject their suggestion, and we’re asking for a trial,” Councilman Bob Blumenfield said.
Sydanmaa’s attorney, Caleb Mason, said he was “disappointed” that city officials backed out of what he described as a signed settlement agreement.
“My client waited 3½ years for a trial date and then he agreed to vacate that trial date two weeks before the trial, based on the word of a high-level city attorney official — he trusted him,” Mason said.
Friday’s payment adds to more than $171 million in money that must be spent starting in 2019 to settle lawsuits accusing the LAPD of wrongful death, excessive force, negligence, discrimination and more, according to records from the LA city attorney’s office.
That number could grow because the city has attracted several sizable payments, including $4 million awarded by a jury at the time to LAPD Captain Lillian Carranza, who demanded nude photos doctored to look like her and shared with co-workers.
