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LA City Council Votes Against Making A Gang Member A Millionaire

Karla Robinson |
April 12, 2012 | 3:17 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

 

courtesy Creative Commons
courtesy Creative Commons
In an 8 to 4 vote, the Los Angeles City Council has decided to reject a $4.5 million settlement to a shooting victim, taking the chance of paying a larger amount if the appeal is unsuccessful.

Robert Contreras was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot multiple times in a police chase in 2005. Then nineteen years old, he had just driven away from the scene of a drive-by shooting which he later served prison time for. Police reported seeing Contreras exit the van with a gun when he tried to escape on foot, but a gun was not found.

Last year, Contreras filed a federal lawsuit against the city, saying the officers violated his fourth amendment right to a reasonable search and seizure. The jury unanimously ruled in his favor.

However, the judge prohibited certain evidence from being used in the trial, including the fact that Contreras was a gang member, that he was convicted for the drive-by shooting and that testimonies from a friend and cellmate both said he did in fact have a gun at the time of the shooting. Using this information, the city will have a better chance at winning the appeal.

Some council members were concerned that rejecting the settlement could bring higher costs to the city – as much as $12 million by one account. Contreras’s estimated future medical bills could be as much as $4 million or even $8 million.

Even so, Councilman Paul Krekorian, who chairs the City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee, has taken a strong stance against paying millions of dollars to a known gang member.

"These officers acted appropriately and within policy," Krekorian said in a statement. "The jury reached a profoundly wrong conclusion because it did not hear important evidence that undoubtedly would have impacted its view of the case. This city cannot validate that mistaken judgement. We should exhaust all legal avenues to achieve justice and to support our brave LAPD officers who risked their lives to subdue a violent felon." 

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Reach staff reporter Karla Robinson here.


 

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