Jury finds LAPD officer not negligent in Burlington store shooting death of 14-year-old girl
The civil trial involving the actions of a Los Angeles police officer and the family of a 14-year-old girl who was struck and killed by a police bullet concluded on Thursday, after a jury ruled in favor of the City of Los Angeles.
The jury sided with the city in a 9-3 verdict in the Estate of Valentina Peralta v. City of Los Angeles case, finding that Officer William Dorsey Jones was not negligent in the Dec. 23, 2021, incident.
Valentina Orellana-Peralta was shopping with her mother days before Christmas at a North Hollywood Burlington Coat Factory store when police responded to the store for a call from someone who reported hearing arguing inside the store and shots fired.
A store employee had said they saw a man hitting a customer with a bike chain, and officers at the scene did find a steel or metal cable lock. It was later determined that the suspect was swinging a bike lock, smashing a window, and hitting customers.
Officers, including Jones, arrived and encountered the suspect as he was assaulting another person, and shots were fired. The first shot struck the suspect, and another bullet ricocheted off the ground and went through a dressing room and struck Orellana-Peralta. The 14-year-old died in her mother's arms.
In 2024, the state Attorney General's Office concluded that criminal charges would not be filed against the officer and were not appropriate regarding the deaths of Orellana-Peralta and the suspect. Prosecutors determined that evidence did not show, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the officer involved acted without the intent to defend himself and others from what he reasonably believed to be imminent death or serious bodily injury.
Days after the 2021 shooting, Orellana-Peralta's family held a news conference with attorneys, demanding transparency. Her mother, Soledad Peralta, recounted being with her daughter at the time of the shooting, saying while in the dressing room, she and Valentina heard a commotion before hugging each other and praying for peace and safety.
"All of a sudden, we felt an explosion that pulled us both to the ground...I had no idea she had been shot. Her body went limp. I tried shaking her, but her body went limp," Peralta said.
