Two former Whittier detectives were charged with assault on Wednesday alleging that they shot an unarmed suspect on the run, severing his spine after a brief chase last year. 2020.
Cynthia Lopez, 34, and Salvador Murillo, 41, each face multiple assault charges over the incident that left Nicholas Carrillo paralyzed from the waist down, according to the Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascon.
Mr. Gascón said Lopez and Murillo were driving a vehicle without a license plate when they spotted a Mitsubishi sedan believed to be involved in a robbery at a Whittier Walmart. Detectives followed the vehicle into an alley, exited the vehicle, and pulled out their weapons. The driver of the sedan is then said to have reversed and collided with a police car without a license plate, according to Gascón, who described the collision as a “collision”.
Carrillo, who was operating the vehicle, jumped out and began to flee from Lopez and Murillo. Gascón said detectives opened fire, hitting Carrillo in the back twice.
“One shot completely severed his spinal cord, instantly paralyzing him from the waist down,” Gascón said. “Although he was lucky to survive, his life was forever changed.”
Carrillo was unarmed when detectives opened fire and no weapons were found in the vehicle, according to Gascón, who said part of the shooting was captured on surveillance video.
Diana Teran, director of the prosecution’s operations office, who also oversees police misconduct prosecutions, said detectives don’t use body-worn cameras because they’re wearing plain clothes and a Their unmarked vehicles don’t have a camera on the dashboard.
According to Gascón, Carrillo is not suspected in the robbery that detectives are investigating, but police are looking for a female passenger in the sedan. According to Teran, the initial robbery was unarmed and no one was injured. The woman ultimately pleaded guilty, Teran said, but did not provide specifics.
Teran said the woman took a television from a Walmart in Whittier and briefly got into a fight with someone in the parking lot while on the run with stolen merchandise.
Teran said the robbery and shooting happened several weeks apart. Calls to attorneys representing Lopez and Murillo were not immediately answered. Gascón said they could be charged as early as next week.
Lopez was charged with two counts of assault under the color of authority, one count of assault with a firearm and one count of shooting at an occupied vehicle. Murillo was charged with two counts of assault with a firearm and two counts of assault by authority.
If convicted, Lopez faces six years in state prison. Murillo will face nine years.
The officers are no longer employed by the Whittier Police Department, although Sheriff Aviv Bar did not say whether they have resigned or been fired.
“The Whittier Police Department has also conducted a separate administrative investigation into the shooting to determine whether the officers involved, who were placed on leave following the incident, and neither of them are currently employed by the police. Department, comply with Department policies,” the sheriff said in a statement. declare. “The Whittier Police Department, which is committed to responsible and accountable policy practice, will provide assistance to the District Attorney’s Office as needed.”
The charges are part of an effort to prosecute police officers in the recent shootings and deaths in custody that are on the rise in Gascón.
At the end of last month, Gascón charges seven California highway patrol officers with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Edward Bronstein following a traffic stop in 2020.
Lawrence Middleton, a special prosecutor hired by Gascón to look into police shooting cases that the previous administration refused to prosecute, also began presenting evidence to a grand jury in an attempt. prosecution of two Torrance police officers in the 2018 murder of Christopher DeAndre Mitchell.
