Jury awards $17 million verdict to family of homeless man shot and killed by Tustin police
A federal jury returned a unanimous $17 million verdict to the family of Luis Garcia for his 2021 shooting death by a Tustin police officer.
In the civil case of Garcia v. City of Tustin, a unanimous verdict was reached in a six-day jury trial, finding the officer's shooting was excessive and unreasonable.
Civil Rights Attorney Michael Carrillo said the released video shows the officer using unnecessary force in the shooting and killing of Garcia.
"The community spoke, the jury spoke and found that Luis Garcia was unarmed at the time he was shot. He was running away, he had been tased and was going through taser cycle when he was shot and killed – that's not justifiable," Carrillo said.
Body camera footage released by the Tustin Police Department shows police officers arriving at a set of tall bushes in daylight, near a mobile home community. Orders are given by a female officer for Garcia to "hey, wake up, come out with your hands up," as she peers in the shrubs.
Orders are given in English and Spanish, and Garcia says he is collecting recyclables. As he comes out of the bushes, the male officer says, "He's got a stick, he's got a stick," and he is tased.
He goes back into the hedges, and as he comes out again, the female officer fires shots at him, and he falls on the sidewalk.
"They made up and concocted this story that he was trying to raise a stick that he used to collect cans, and in his other hand, he had the recyclables that he used to turn in to make money," Carrillo said. "They came up with this story that he was at the point of almost striking and killing her, causing great bodily injury. It was totally false. The jury saw through that."
The City of Tustin provided the following statement:
Reviews of this incident by the California Department of Justice determined that Tustin police acted in self-defense and were justified in the use of force against an armed suspect. While we continue to extend condolences, we are disappointed by this verdict in this civil suit and will be exploring our options going forward.
