Katie Rucke
Earlier this week, officials in Los Angeles announced the city would pay $4.2 million to a mother and daughter whose car was mistaken by police for the one driven by ex-policeman Christopher Dorner.
While looking for Dorner, police fired 102 shots at the car in the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance, Calif., on Feb. 7. The women, who were delivering newspapers at the time, both received shooting-related injuries.
Emma Hernandez, 71, was shot twice in the back, which is considered life-threatening injuries. Her daughter, Margie Carranza, 47, suffered hand injuries from flying debris, including a wounded finger.
“In reaching this settlement, we hope Margie and Emma will be able to move on with their lives, the city will be spared millions of dollars in litigation expense and time, and this unfortunate chapter of the Dorner saga will be put to rest,” Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich said in a statement.
But before either Hernandez or Carranza sees their share of the $4.2 million, the Los Angeles City Council must ratify the settlement. According to the Los Angeles Times, the City Council typically “rubber-stamps” such payouts.
After hearing the announcement, some legal experts shared they believed the settlement was unusually high for a police shooting case that didn’t result in permanently debilitating injuries.
“It is fair, but high,” said Los Angeles civil rights attorney Carl Douglas.
David Klinger, a former LAPD officer and use-of-force expert at the University of Missouri, agreed with Douglas. “Usually a payout of this magnitude typically comes in cases with crippling injuries and deaths,” he said.
Police say they mistook the women’s blue Toyota Tacoma for Dorner’s gray Nissan Titan truck. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Chief Charlie Beck said in March that the incident was a gross case of police misconduct and an embarrassment to the LAPD.
“There were two women there. They are not black. They are not large. They were not in a car that matched. No danger was presented to the officers,” said Glen Jonas, the two women’s attorney. “It was such a mismatched identification.”
The women have already made one settlement with the city regarding the incident. In March, they agreed to a $40,000 deal to replace their truck, which was adorned with multiple bullet holes.
Though the LAPD relied on drones to track down Dorner, the police department had multiple incidents of “mistaken identity,” such as the one involving Hernandez and Carranza.
As Mint Press previously reported, originally the LAPD arranged for the donation of a new truck, but the gesture fell apart when the city required the women to fill out a tax form and pay income tax for the $32,560 2013 Ford 150 SuperCrew, as well as pose for publicity photos.
Chris No is the spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department. He said the most recent settlement does not affect the department’s investigation into the shooting by the LAPD officers.
“The department has not yet made any determination regarding the propriety of each officer’s action or any potential discipline related to this use of force,” he said. He added that the eight officers involved in the shooting are still assigned to desk duty as the investigation continues.