The family of an Indio man who was shot and killed by police in October have filed a wrongful death lawsuit in which they claim that video footage of the incident was deleted by officers.
Villarreal, 18, of Thousand Palms, was involved in a slow-speed car chase in the parking lot of Christiansen Apartments on Shadow Palm Avenue in Indio on Oct. 14, reports The Desert Sun. Police say that they saw Villarreal driving a stolen car in the parking lot of the apartments about 1 p.m.. Officers surrounded him and Villarreal attempted to elude them by putting his car in reverse and accelerating. He ended up crashing into a police car and officers opened fire.
According to The Desert Sun, police have never released whether or not Villarreal had a weapon.
Villarreal’s family claims in the lawsuit that it was an unjustified shooting as the officers were on the side of Villarreal’s car – and not in his driving path.
The lawsuit also alleges that the incident was recorded, but that the footage had been deleted. Via The Desert Sun:
The lawsuit alleges that the shooting of Sammy Villarreal was captured by both security cameras and a camera phone, but that Indio police officers seized the recordings and erased the footage. The suit is now the third ongoing lawsuit alleging excessive force by Indio police.
The Indio Police Department confirmed that the officer who shot Villarreal is Cpl. Leonardo Perafan.
Sgt. Dan Marshall of the Indio PD released a statement to KESQ:
As a matter of practice, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department conducts an independent criminal culpability investigation in conjunction with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office on any Officer Involved Shooting by the Indio Police Department. The Indio Police Department is conducting a parallel administrative investigation that is still ongoing.
The Villarreal family is represented by David Kenner and Brett Greenfield, a pair attorneys who previously represented the family of Alejandro Rendon – who was fatally shot as he fled from an Indio Officer in 2013. After a 6 day trial, The Rendon family was awarded $1.9 million.
