LOS ANGELES — The city of Los Angeles is paying $9.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by relatives of a woman fatally shot by LA police during a shootout with a gunman at a Trader Joe’s store six years ago, the family’s attorneys said Friday.
The father and brother of the 27-year-old Melyda Corado in November 2018, charged with civil rights violations and wrongful death.
Corado was an assistant manager at the store in the Silver Lake neighborhood on July 21, 2018, when a gunman, being pursued by police, was caught in a gunfight as he ran inside. Corado was caught in the crossfire, police said.
Investigators said the gunman shot his grandmother and kidnapped his girlfriend. He took dozens of people hostage in the store but later surrendered.
According to Neil Gehlawat, attorney for Corado’s family, her death could have been prevented if the officers had followed their training.
“Officers must consider the dangers posed to bystanders when using deadly force, and the officers here failed to do so,” Gehlawat said in a statement.
The Public Prosecution Service did not immediately respond on Friday to an email seeking comment on the settlement.
Los Angeles police have identified the officer who fired the fatal shot did not violate police policyA report found that officers acted reasonably because they believed the shooter posed an imminent threat of injury or death.