The family of 19-year-old Alberto Arzola, who was fatally shot by Anaheim Police Department officers, is preparing to file a lawsuit against the city. The incident occurred on December 6 in the 800 block of South Philadelphia Street during a gang suppression patrol. According to the police, Arzola allegedly struggled with the police before being shot, and officers claimed they found an "assault-style firearm" near him posthumously.
However, civil rights attorney V. James DeSimone, representing the family, declared police had responded to "a report of graffiti," which they maintain Arzola did not commit, as KTLA reports. DeSimone contests the official account, stating at a news conference that the death resulted from "a tragic and unnecessary escalation of force," with officers allegedly also causing injury to two other teens present at the scene, one of whom was struck in the head with a beanbag round.
Furthermore, according to CBS Los Angeles, bodycam footage reveals officers grabbing Arzola off the porch. Despite the footage's lack of initial audio due to "buffering," Desimone remarked, "We can't hear anything that the police officer commands and we can't hear the cries of Alberto as he was saying 'don't shoot me, don't shoot me' as an officer grabbed his hoodie and had a gun in his other hand."
Additionally, the altercation 18 minutes following the shooting involved 18-year-old Emmanuel Cordova, who while ostensibly attempting to demonstrate he was of no threat by holding his hands up, was struck by a bean bag round in the head, as indicated by NBC Los Angeles. Attorneys claim that the use of force in this instance resulted in a brain injury for Cordova and was unwarranted given his non-threatening posture. A separate legal proceeding is initiated for Cordova's injuries and on behalf of a 14-year-old relative who witnessed Arzola's fatal encounter, which Desimone described as traumatic.
The city of Anaheim, in a brief statement, extended its condolences to the affected family but upheld the officers' actions as in "the best interest of public safety." Meanwhile, the family and their attorney press on, seeking accountability for what they perceive to be a glaring miscarriage of justice in a fraught encounter that resulted in loss of life and trauma to young witnesses.
