Los Angeles Board of Supervisors Should Use 3 Million Dollars for Anti-violence Programs.

Joseph Charney
Sep 3, 2018 · 3 min read

The County of Los Angeles is about to pay 3 million dollars of a 14.3 million tentative settlement to the family of Frank Mendoza Sr., who was unintentionally killed by a Sheriff’s deputy. A fleeing suspect while evading the police entered the deceased’s home through a window, causing Mr. Mendoza Sr. to flee from his home through his front door when he was mistaken for the gunman and shot. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Justice System Integrity Unit wrote a detailed and comprehensive report reviewing the matter. http://da.lacounty.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/JSID_OIS_Mendoza_Ramirez.pdf

It is a chilling account of the nightmare that the Mendoza family suffered as Sheriff deputies tried to neutralize a very dangerous felon who engaged them in gunfire.

The death of Mr. Mendoza Sr. has devastated his family. We can not imagine, nor pretend to imagine, their ongoing sense of loss. To determine the reasonableness of this settlement however, it is necessary to analyze the circumstances surrounding the death. While the bullet may have come from a deputy’s gun, it is the suspect, had he lived, who would have been charged with murder under the felony murder rule. While the family’s loss is an incomparable and unique one, the deputy who tragically shot Mr. Mendoza is also a victim. His job placed him in a situation where events raced by, dangers grew, and a split second decision had to be made. The result: the nightmare of killing an individual you are sworn to protect and serve. All of this suffering and loss must and should be placed on the one responsible — the deceased felon, a violent gang member who cared nothing about terrorizing others and placing deputies and civilians in harms way.

The family should be compensated adequately for the loss of a husband, father and grandfather. But isn’t the more than 10 million dollars already paid by the contract cities through their insurance policies sufficient? Should Los Angeles County now be forced to pay 3 million dollars more?

One can only assume that the deal was motivated by the fear that an “anti-police atmosphere” exists and that placing the case in the jury’s hands posed too great a risk. But would it have been? This is not a case where there are accusations of racial bias or malevolence on the part of a police officer. This is a case where a vicious gang member places the deceased’s family in danger, fires multiple rounds from their house and forces Mr. Mendoza Sr’s wife to sequester herself in the bathroom for 8 hours in fear for her life.

We can’t blame defense counsel for this proposed settlement. It’s their client, Los Angeles County, through its Board of Supervisors, who will have to decide whether they should pay the plaintiffs an additional 3 million dollars. The County funds a myriad of services, mostly targeted to serve its low-income population. These include health and mental health services in our hospitals and jails, family and children protective services, department of social services for families in need, as well as sheltering and servicing the homeless. If the County pays 3 million dollars as part of a 14.3 million dollar settlement, it deprives needy County residents of 3 million dollars that can pay for a myriad of positive programs including those that seek violence reduction. This isn’t to say that the County shouldn’t settle cases, even multi-million dollar ones, but in this case the County shouldn’t lose precious funds because it fears bias against the men and women who don the uniform.

However, if the County is unwilling to risk trial, the Board should work with the Mendozas to create a $3,000,000 fund in the name of Mr. Frank Mendoza Sr., dedicated to his memory, and directed to ongoing County efforts to reduce gang violence. Let us send a message of heartfelt sympathy to the family, and offer them an opportunity to join the County in directing resources to reduce the very violence that took Mr. Mendoza Sr.’s life.

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