Mistrial declared in case of deadly 2019 officer-involved shooting
Newsy
Reports said the state attorney general’s office on Thursday declined to say whether it will retry the case.
A mistrial was declared after a jury deadlock in a voluntary manslaughter case against an off-duty Los Angeles police officer who fatally shot a mentally ill man who attacked him in a Costco store in 2019.
After the mistrial Thursday, the California attorney general's office declined to say whether it planned to retry the case, the Southern California News Group reported.
Salvador Sanchez was holding his young son in his arms at a Costco in Corona, about 40 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, when he was knocked to the ground from behind by 32-year-old Kenneth French. Sanchez opened fire seconds later, fatally wounding French and critically injuring French's parents, Russell and Paola French.
French was nonverbal and had recently been taken off unspecified medication due to other health issues, the family's lawyer has said, adding that the change may have affected his behavior that night. French's family believes he suffered from schizophrenia.
While Sanchez told investigators he believed French had a gun and that his life was in danger, authorities said French was not armed and was moving away from Sanchez when the officer began shooting.
