LAPD faces lawsuit claiming officers allegedly shot robbery victims during struggle

A law firm filed a claim against the City of Los Angeles Wednesday after officers allegedly shot their two clients as they wrestled their assailant to the ground near Nickerson Gardens. 

The Carrillo Law Firm said their clients, Victor Diaz and Jesus Rojas are victims of police negligence, the failure of officers to shoot properly, and the failure to assess a situation properly.

"What these officers did, was they responded to a fast-moving situation, which we can all understand, but again, you can't shoot the victims, you got to really deal with the problem," Attorney Michael Carillo said.

Diaz and Rojas were standing outside a church in the 1700 block of East 114th Street on Dec. 28, 2024, when they say a man armed with an AK-47 rifle tried to rob them. The two charged their alleged assailant, 54-year-old Kevin Doby, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The victims' lawyers said one of the men flagged LAPD officers patrolling the area during the struggle.

As the officers got out of their vehicle, one of the victims shouted, "he's got a gun," multiple times. Video from the incident showed the officer radioed for help and shouted the commands "get off of him" before opening fire. LAPD officials said the officer shot while the victims tried to break away from the suspect and once again when Doby tried to rearm himself.

The victims' lawyers said the gunfire seriously wounded Diaz and Rojas. In the LAPD's initial report, officers said "the victims were also struck by gunfire" but did not specify who shot them. Lawyers said it's another example of bad police training and the use of unnecessary force. 

"They were defending themselves at the moment they were shot," Luis Carillo said. "Good news is that our clients didn't die at the hands of LAPD officers, but we want justice."

Attorneys said one of their clients, Diaz, was seriously injured from being shot. His arm injury has prevented him from returning to work as a truck driver they said. "I thought I was going to die, because I mean it was a lot of blood coming out of my arm," Diaz said at Wednesday's news conference.

Officers arrested Doby for armed robbery after he was taken to the hospital in a stable condition. 

They also recovered an AK-style rifle and a 3-inch folding knife at the scene.