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Oxnard To Pay $6.7M To Family Of Innocent Man Fatally Shot As Many As 20 Times By Police

OXNARD (CBSLA.com) — Oxnard will pay $6.7 million to the family of a jogger fatally shot by police who suspected at the time that he had been part of a pursuit with officers.

Alfonso Limon Jr.'s family filed the lawsuit against the city in March.

CBS2's Amy Johnson reported part of the settlement will require the city to look into providing officers with body cameras, dashboard cameras and declaring every Oct. 13 — the day Limon, 21, was shot and killed in 2012 — as Community Safety and Anti-Violence Day for the next five years.

"He was aimed at and shot at intentionally," said Adam Shea, the family's attorney.

The lawyer said the settlement is the largest Oxnard has ever paid in a wrongful-death lawsuit.

Shea said Limon was lying on the ground when nine police officers fired, striking him four times.

"The autopsy indicates that he had between 16 and 21 bullet wounds," Shea said.

Limon was walking home with his brother Gerardo when the two got caught in the crossfire of Oxnard police who were chasing three men suspected in a pursuit, police said.

"It was one of the worst things I've gone through in my life," Gerardo said at a news conference announcing the settlement. "I hope no one else has to go through it. It was just chaos."

Family members said through their attorney that they want to see changes in the police department.

"Our main goal with all of these the nonmonetary resolutions," said Limon's sister, Rebecca, "was to bring attention to my brother's death, because it was completely unnecessary, and we feel that it was completely avoidable. So, with these things in mind, we want for these things to be prevented in the future and no families to go through what we are going through."

A plaque will mark the spot where Limon was killed.

People will also know he was not at fault.

"It was really important to the Limon family," Shea said, "for the world to know that Alfonso and Gerardo were completely innocent, that they had no involvement whatsoever in causing this."

Johnson reported the Ventura County District Attorney's Office is investigating the case against the officers.

"We believe that there is more than ample evidence for the district attorney to file charges, but we are not he district attorney, and it's not our decision," Shea said.

 RELATED LINK:

Autopsy To Determine If Police Gunfire Killed Oxnard Jogger In Shootout

 Innocent Bystander May Have Been Killed In Oxnard Officer-Involved Shooting

 

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