Southern California family files lawsuit after young father shot by police

After an unarmed man was shot and killed by police in Southern California, his relatives are demanding justice.

The young father of two, Jimmy Lopez, 26, was killed by police officers in Hemet on July 4. Family members are now filing a lawsuit against the police.

That night, police received a call from a bar in downtown Hemet that an intoxicated man had left the bar with what appeared to be a gun in his pants.

Officers arrived on the scene and located Lopez in the 200 block of East Florida Avenue at approximately 1:40 a.m. When police reached him, a confrontation occurred, during which Lopez was shot and killed by police.

Investigators later confirmed that Lopez was carrying an airsoft pistol and not a firearm at the time.

According to Hemet police, body camera footage shows Lopez allegedly aimed the airsoft gun at officers and that “officers had no way of knowing at the time” the weapon was not a handgun.

Lopez’s family, however, disagreed and questioned why non-lethal methods were not used in the confrontation.

“They could have tranquilized him,” Lopez’s grandmother said. “They could have done so many other things and he would still be alive today.”

“He was a beloved son, brother, nephew and father,” said Denisse Gastelum, Lopez’s family attorney. “What these police officers did was murder a 26-year-old young man.”

“We want the Hemet Police Department to be held accountable for the decisions they made on July 4,” said Annie Durocher, Lopez’s aunt.

A video of the incident showed Lopez sitting on a sidewalk with his back against the wall when police arrived at his home that evening.

He smoked what appeared to be a vape pen and shortly thereafter moved his right hand, at which point shots were immediately fired at him. Police later claim that Lopez was seen with the airsoft gun in his hand at this point.

However, Lopez’s lawyers claimed that Lopez never drew the airsoft gun and are demanding justice for the police’s decisions that night.

“First of all, he was not armed with a firearm,” said Christian Contreras, another attorney representing Lopez’s family. “Secondly, the gun that may have been involved was not a real gun. Sure, the officers may not have known that, but at the same time, if there were reports of that, they should have been relayed, and that is a fundamental failure of police work that occurred here.”

The lawyers also claimed that police fired more than 100 shots at Lopez.

Although it remains unclear what Lopez was doing shortly before his murder, Dennis Zine, a retired Los Angeles police officer, said the officers’ main goal was to neutralize the situation.

“If the person calling 911 says they have a gun, whether it’s loaded or unloaded, an airsoft gun or some other weapon, then they’re saying the man has a gun, and officers are assuming that person is armed,” Zine explained. “I would say whether the person has a gun, whether it’s an airsoft gun or not, you really can’t tell.”

In a video obtained by KTLA from a nearby business owner, Lopez is seen walking outside before the fatal shooting while holding a dark object. Moments later, he is seen stumbling backwards into some bushes before eventually getting up and walking away.

The incident remains under investigation by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Investigative Team.

The California Department of Justice will conduct an independent investigation based on House Bill 1506, which requires the department to investigate police-involved shootings that result in the death of an unarmed person.

Hemet police officials said video of the fatal shooting will be released in the coming days.

“We are committed to transparency and will provide the public with all relevant information as it becomes available,” Hemet police said. “The Hemet Police Department has cooperated fully with all law enforcement agencies involved throughout this investigation and will continue to do so.”

Family members plan to hold a protest rally outside the Historic Hemet Theater in Hemet on Saturday, July 27.