Two Buena Park police officers used excessive force when they fatally shot a 19-year-old man suffering from depression, a Santa Ana jury found this week, which later awarded his mother 3, $5 million in damages.
Officers Bobby Colon and Jennifer Tran fatally shot David Sullivan, 19, on Aug. 19, 2019, when they confronted him after he stole a vehicle from his workplace, according to attorneys for the police family. victim. Sullivan, who was shot several times, was unarmed.
The plaintiff’s attorneys argued that Sullivan suffered a nervous breakdown that required officers to use appropriate non-lethal techniques to treat a person in distress.
It was the second time that the police officers were tried in this case. A federal jury heard the case in 2022 and a mistrial was declared, according to the plaintiff’s lawyers. The case was then sent back to state court.
Although Colon and Tran will be held civilly responsible for the shooting, they are unlikely to face professional repercussions, said Gary Dordick, the attorney who led the plaintiff’s trial team.
Colon and Tran attempted to arrest Sullivan for an expired registration on the day of the shooting, Dordick said in a news release. Sullivan attempted to flee in the stolen SUV, hitting the police car and a bystander.
When Sullivan’s vehicle stopped, he charged toward the officers on foot. Officers fired seven shots, hitting Sullivan four times in a shootout captured on an officer’s body camera, according to the plaintiff’s attorney.
The defendants argued during the trial that Sullivan, who was more than 6 feet tall and weighed 230 pounds, was running toward them in a threatening manner and could have inflicted serious bodily injury, Dordick said. They also referenced a suicide note found in Sullivan’s wallet after his death to justify the shooting, he said.
“It was a bad shooting and they should have accepted responsibility and learned from it,” Dordick said in an interview. “Instead, they made inconsistent and false statements about the shooting. »
Dordick and his team argued that the officers used deadly force against a man who did not pose a deadly threat. They also pointed out that Sullivan was in the middle of a mental health crisis at the time.
“The family must accept responsibility for David Solomon’s misconduct and the role he played,” Dordick said. “But at the same time, police officers need to accept responsibility and be held accountable for what they did.”
Dordick said he expects the defendants to appeal.
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