“His motor skills are fine it’s just something cloudy up there,” he said, adding: “He’s never been violent with any of us, so we don’t know how this escalated.” Shurieh said he wasn’t sure if his cousin had ever been “fully” diagnosed but knew French was on medication. Kenneth French, 32, who was killed in a shooting by an off-duty Los Angeles police officer at a Costco in Corona, California, is shown with his parents, Russell and Paola French, who were injured in the shooting, according to French’s cousin, and remained hospitalized Sunday. Kenneth French, 32, was non-verbal, non-violent and had no previous encounters with police, his cousin Rick Shureih said Sunday in a phone interview. The Associated Press contributed to this story.A relative of the man killed by an off-duty police officer at a California Costcodescribed his cousin as “mentally challenged” and a “gentle giant.” Regardless of whether they're in uniform, police officers are allowed to use deadly force in self-defense or defense of others if it's clear there is no alternative, said Robert Weisberg, a professor at Stanford University's law school. Off-duty officers can carry concealed firearms as long as the guns are authorized for on-duty use, according to the LAPD manual. Video from Costco's security cameras and shoppers' cellphones will be critical to the investigations, said Samuel Walker, a retired criminal justice professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and an expert on police accountability. The shooting prompted a stampede of frightened shoppers, some fleeing the store as others sought cover inside. ![]() Witnesses reported seeing an argument between two people near a freezer section when at least six shots rang out. An earlier statement by Corona police referred to the off-duty officer as a "victim." Once Corona police finish their investigation, prosecutors will review and consider whether to bring criminal charges.Ĭorona police say the only weapon recovered at the scene belonged to the off-duty officer.Īuthorities have not said if the officer identified himself as a police officer before firing. The Riverside County District Attorney's Office issued a statement urging the public to be patient. The family's relatives are urging anyone who witnessed the deadly encounter to contact them.Ĭorona police did not respond to requests for information about Winslow's statements, what immediately preceded the shooting and whether anyone other than the officer had a weapon. He also said the family is pro-police but wants justice and called on authorities to arrest the officer. In a Facebook posting Monday, Shureih said the family has gotten "witness accounts that do not match up to the original story." He declined to provide details, saying the information is confidential. He did not provide details on the condition, but he said French had "to be pretty much monitored" and his cousin's parents, Russell and Paola French, accompanied him everywhere. Rick Shureih, French's cousin, told the Press-Enterprise in Riverside that French was gentle and didn't speak because of a mental condition that started in adulthood. ![]() RELATED: Corona Costco shooting: Man who was killed described as mentally disabled 'gentle giant' There will be accountability and there will be justice."Ī cousin of Kenneth French, the man who was killed, described him as a "gentle man" who didn't speak because of a mental condition. "But we will get to the bottom of this matter. "It might be what we think one day is something different the next," said Mayor Eric Garcetti. ![]() "That's when he had no choice but to use deadly force." ![]() When he opened his eyes moments later, he was on the ground, on the concrete. "He was suddenly struck, knocked unconscious. "There was no discussion, there was no argument, there was no warning at all," Winslow said. Two accounts of the shooting that caused chaos inside the busy warehouse store on June 14 painted completely different pictures of the series of events, with both describing different parties as the victim.Īttorney David Winslow said his client - a Los Angeles Police Department officer whom he wouldn't name - was struck from behind without a word being spoken Friday night as he fed his son samples of teriyaki chicken in the store. (KABC) - New details emerged Tuesday in the deadly shooting inside a Corona Costco involving an off-duty officer whose attorney claims the policeman was attacked without warning as he held his toddler son. New details emerged Tuesday in the deadly shooting inside a Corona Costco involving an off-duty officer and a mentally disabled man.ĬORONA, Calif.
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