Jury Awards $24 Million to Boy Paralyzed by LAPD Shooting

Believed to be largest sanction against the police

A jury Friday handed down a $24-million verdict against the Los Angeles Police Department for the shooting of a teenage boy who was playing with a replica gun. His injury left him paralyzed.

The award is believed to be the largest sanction ever against the LAPD for a single event and perhaps the largest of any kind against the department. It comes as the LAPD is trying to stem the number of costly lawsuits brought against it.

The case centered on a December 2010 encounter, in which Officer Victor Abarca and his partner were on patrol in the city's Glassell Park neighborhood shortly before 8 p.m., according to police records.

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From the article:

THE OLD "WEAPON IN THE WAISTBAND DEFENSE--
the victim "...pulled what appeared to be a pistol from his waistband."

WITNESSES CONTRADICT--
to witnesses it was "...glaringly apparent they were kids and that they were playing cops and robbers."

OFFICER LIES--
"The boy's wounds also refuted the officer's version of events..."

JURY FINDS--
"The jury found that [Officer] Abarca had used excessive force and was negligent... in his decision to shoot."

AND GUESS WHAT?--"
"Last year, Abarca was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Police Commission..."