Two LA police detectives charged over shooting that left unarmed man paralysed

‘Police are afforded great power and with that power comes great responsibility’

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón (County of Los Angeles)

Two police detectives have been charged over the shooting of an unarmed suspect that left him paralysed, the Los Angeles district attorney has announced.

George Gascón announced criminal charges against Whittier police detectives Cynthia Lopez and Salvador Murillo, who fired several rounds at Nicholas Carillo while he was running from his car in April 2020. One of the bullets struck Mr Carillo in the back.

Mr Gascón said that the decision by the two detectives to use potentially deadly force on someone who was unarmed and fleeing was inexcusable. “Police are afforded great power and with that power comes great responsibility,” Mr Gascón said. “Human life is precious and you should never use lethal force unless it’s necessary in defense of human life.”

While Mr Carrillo survived the shooting, a bullet severed his spinal cord leaving him paralysed from the waist down. Mr Gascón added that Mr Carillo’s life is forever changed as a result of the actions of these officers.

Detective Murillo has been charged with two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and two counts of assault under color of authority, which means the suspect is claiming their act is legitimate due to their role in law enforcement. Detective Lopez was also charged with two counts of assault under color of authority, one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle and also one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. The two detectives are no longer on the force and arraignment for them will be scheduled for Monday.

Mr Gascón and Diana Teran, director of the DA’s Justice System Integrity Division, provided the accounts of what happened that day Mr Carillo was shot on 30 April 2020.

The two defendants were on duty and working in plain clothes when they spotted a vehicle that they believed may have been used in a previous robbery case the previous month. The suspect in the March case was a woman, who allegedly took a 40-inch television at a Walmart, and drove off with a man who was behind the wheel in a getaway vehicle, a Mitsubishi Sedan.

Weeks later, the two detectives saw a similar vehicle and pulled over Mr Carillo, the only occupant of the car, in an alley. The detectives got out of their vehicle, and then Mr Carillo allegedly slowly reversed and bumped the front of the undercover detectives’ vehicle before getting out of the car and running.

Detective Lopez fired into the rear windshield where Mr Carrillo was seated in the driver’s seat and then fired two more shots as he ran, according to prosecutors. The detectives reportedly chased Mr Carillo and allegedly fired more shots as he tried to climb over a six-foot fence, hitting him twice in the back.

Mr Carillo was unarmed and no weapon was recovered inside the vehicle, according to the prosecutors.

The case was investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Whittier Police Department, which in August 2020 paid a $1m settlement to Mr Carillo for the shooting .