A state advisory board is urging that two Los Angeles Police Department officers be stripped of their state peace-officer credentials after concluding they used excessive force in the 2021 fatal shooting of Margarito Lopez Jr. in Historic South Central. The full Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training is set to take up the case on June 4, 2026, in what would be a relatively rare use of California's post-SB 2 decertification process.
The Peace Officer Standards and Training advisory panel said there was "clear and convincing evidence" that Officers José Zavala and Julio Quintanilla used excessive force during the Dec. 18, 2021 encounter with 22-year-old Lopez, according to the Los Angeles Times. The board recommended that the officers' POST certificates be suspended or revoked, which would cost them the state credential required to work as peace officers in California, the Times reported. The recommendation followed a public April 15 hearing where the panel reviewed body-camera video and investigative files.
How the shooting unfolded
The Los Angeles Police Department's Force Investigation Division reported that officers responded to a 911 call from Lopez's sister on Dec. 18, 2021, and confronted him on the 900 block of East Adams Boulevard. During the encounter, an officer fired a 40-millimeter less-lethal round and, almost at the same time, Officers Zavala and Quintanilla discharged their service weapons, according to the department's incident report. Lopez was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead, according to the LAPD. The department said its completed investigation would be reviewed by the chief of police, the Board of Police Commissioners and the Office of the Inspector General.
Settlement and civil case
Lopez's family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city, and the Los Angeles City Council voted to authorize up to $8,000,000 to settle the claim, according to a council document. The motion identifies the case as Margarito T. Lopez, et al. v. City of Los Angeles and directs payment to the plaintiffs' counsel, the document shows.
Legal implications
Under Senate Bill 2, law enforcement agencies must report serious misconduct to POST, which has the authority to suspend or revoke certifications for allegations that include excessive force, as outlined by POST. POST materials note that the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board hears cases in public. If the Commission agrees with a board recommendation, POST can then send the case to an administrative law judge for a formal hearing. The agency's first-quarter newsletter lists the April 15 board session and upcoming commission dates.
What people are saying
The board's move has drawn strong reactions on both sides. Luis Carrillo, an attorney for the Lopez family, told the Los Angeles Times that, in his view, the decision means the officers "won't be terrorizing the community anymore." Attorneys for the officers pushed back, with lawyer Leslie Wilcox telling the panel that the officers "expressed their fear of an imminent threat," the Times reported. The case also remains under review by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, the Times added.
