Family of Mely Corado, woman shot and killed by police at Silver Lake Trader Joe's in 2018 reach tentative settlement

Family members of Mely Corado, the assistant manager at a Silver Lake Trader Joe's that was shot and killed by police in 2018, has reached a tentative settlement in a lawsuit filed with the city of Los Angeles. 

Specifics of the "conditional" resolution, have not yet been released, but Los Angeles City Attorney's Office attorneys and plaintiffs announced the news on Friday to Superior Court Judge Alison Mackenzie. They say that they expect a request for a dismissal will be filed by Sept. 3. 

Melyda "Mely" Corado, who was 27-years-old, was shot and killed while working at Trader Joe's on July 21, 2018 during a shootout with a suspect. The shooting was preceded by a pursuit that ended in a crash near the store that was prompted when 27-year-old Gene Evin Atkins shot and wounded his grandmother and kidnapped a 17-year-old girl. 

The family filed a lawsuit just months after the deadly incident. Additionally, the sued Los Angeles Police Department Officers Sinlen Tse and Sarah Winans. Corado was struck by a bullet from Tse's gun. 

Related: LAPD Officer Defends Decisions Prior To Mistakenly Killing Mely Corado At Trader Joe's In 2018

Former Irvine Deputy Police Chief Jeffrey J. Noble, an expert in use-of-force, gave a sworn declaration regarding the actions of the officers during the pursuit of Atkins. 

"The failure of Officers Tse and Winans to hold their fire when Mr. Atkins turned his back and ran into the Trader Joe's on a Saturday afternoon with numerous civilians present both inside and outside the store was reckless and inconsistent with generally accepted police practices as police officers are trained to account for their background when firing their handguns to avoid shooting an innocent person," Noble said. 

Atkins, who is now 34-years-old, was struck in the left elbow as he ran from the car that day. 

He still awaits trail after being charged with murder for Corado's death on top of 50 other counts that included shooting his grandmother and 17-year-old girlfriend and firing at police officers.

Lawyers for the LA City Attorney's Office contend that the actions of the officers' use of force was "objectively reasonable based on the facts and circumstances confronting the officers," in court papers that are in favor of dismissing the case. 

The LA County District Attorney's Office also released a report in Dec. 2020 that found both officers were "justified in using deadly force in an attempt to stop" Atkins as he ran into the store. 

Related: LAPD accused of firing recklessly into a crowd, killing Trader Joe's manager

A handwritten note from Atkins that was given to the plaintiff's lawyers states that he never fired any shots after his car crashed outside of the store at the end of the chase, despite officers' claims that he did. 

"However, even if Atkins show two times at the officers as he exited his vehicle as they claim, they still should not have fired multiple deadly rounds in Atkins' direction, given their background of a crowded grocery store on a Saturday afternoon with numerous civilians present," Noble said. 

He said that he has no issue with the officers' conduction of the pursuit. 

"In these circumstances, the officers' vehicle pursuit of Atkins was reasonable and consistent with generally accepted police practices," Noble said. "Atkins was wanted for a violent crime, attempted murder, he had stolen a vehicle and was believed to be armed and dangerous. During the pursuit, Atkins drove recklessly and shot at the officers."

Noble says that the officers had an obligation to look at the potential dangers that could be presented to the people in the background as Atkins turned and fled into the store. Both officers fired shots. 

"While only Officer Tse's round struck Ms. Corado, both officers' actions were inconsistent with generally accepted police practices as they placed the community at risk of death or serious bodily injury as they fired toward a busy store at a subject who was running away from the officers," Noble said.  

 Noble, who retired in 2012 after a nearly three decade long career in law enforcement, temporarily served as deputy chief for the Westminster Department in 2014. He has been retained as both a defense and a plaintiff's expert in more than 300 cases. 

He says that an LAPD Use of Deadly Force Handout that is provided to all police recruits at the academy states that before discharging a firearm, officers must consider their surroundings, background and the potential risk to bystanders. 

Tse and Winans both gave sworn statements that supported the city's motion to dismiss the case. 

"I had no alternative but to fire my weapon at Gene Atkins in order to stop this deadly threat that he, himself, had created," Tse said. "I fired based upon his actions and stopped when I realized he was moving into the Trader Joe's entrance to avoid striking individuals inside, despite the fact that he was still considered a violent fleeing felon and continued to pose an imminent threat of serious/great bodily injury and/or death while inside Trader Joe's."

Shots fired by Atkins at the officers struck a nearby pole, according to Tse. He says that he and his partner ran for cover behind a concrete wall in the parking lot while Atkins was inside. 

Winans' declaration says that Atkins posed as much of a deadly threat to the people inside of the Trader Joe's as he did to her and Tse.

"No longer could I avoid the unfortunate need to fire my weapon to stop Gene Atkins' deadly actions, but I also was forced into this situation based upon the deadly actions that Gene Atkins had demonstrated he was capable of engaging in," Winans said.