Police officer shoots to kill Vietnamese woman after mistaking a vegetable peeler for a lethal weapon. CMS&C helps victim's family find vindication with a $1.825 million settlement.
This case involved the death of a 25 year old Vietnamese mother of two. A local police officer entered her home in response to a call to investigate a report of a child in the street. When the officer saw the woman holding a vegetable peeler, he claimed he thought it was a knife. Purportedly fearing for his life, the officer fired a single shot at the woman, killing her.
Although a criminal grand jury did not indict the officer, the victim's family filed suit against the city. The suit claimed a violation of the victim's and the Plaintiff's civil rights, as well as wrongful death, loss of future support and funeral and burial expenses.
The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment. When the judge denied the motion, the defense then filed an appeal and attempted to stop the jury trial. The appeals court issued an order mandating the defense show cause as to why the appeal should not be dismissed. CMS&C moved on the Plaintiff's behalf for an order declaring the appeal to be frivolous, which would allow the trial to go forward. The Plaintiff's motion was granted.
The parties later entered into a two-day mediation. CMS&C gathered several expert witnesses, including an audiologist, an otolaryngology specialist, an accident reconstruction specialist, an economist, a forensic scientist, a licensed clinical psychologist, and two Asian culture and history experts to demonstrate the civil rights violations, the wrongful death and its economic impacts. CMS&C helped the Plaintiff settle the case for $1.825 million without a trial.
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Family Settles for $1.8 Million in Peeler Shooting
Ulysses Torassa, SF Chronicle, November 30, 2005
The family of a San Jose mother shot and killed by police as she stood in her kitchen holding a 10-inch vegetable peeler has agreed to settle their lawsuit against the city for $1.825 million.
