A downtown Los Angeles jury has hit the City of Los Angeles with a $6.5 million verdict after finding that an LAPD officer and the city assaulted Pablo Vera, battered him, and violated his civil rights during the raucous celebrations that followed the Lakers' 2020 NBA championship win. Jurors also decided that some of the force used against Vera was motivated by his race and tacked on $20,000 in punitive damages against Officer Alexander Alvarez.
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, the award covers Vera's medical expenses, lost income, and emotional distress, closing out a lawsuit that stemmed from an Oct. 11, 2020 encounter near what was then Staples Center. The jury returned its verdict on June 23 and ordered $20,000 in punitive damages against Alvarez. The Daily News reports that jurors found both the city and Alvarez liable for assault and constitutional violations, and concluded that some of the force used on Vera was racially motivated.
L.A. TACO reports that Vera had been standing on 12th Street in downtown Los Angeles when officers moved in, including Alvarez from the LAPD Mounted Unit. Plaintiffs say Alvarez struck Vera with a Japanese wooden training sword known as a bokken, breaking Vera's forearm and sending him into surgery. Vera's attorneys told jurors he then missed months of work as a security guard and is still dealing with both physical and emotional fallout. L.A. TACO notes that the case was filed in 2022 and finally reached a jury this month.
What jurors heard
Across the trial, jurors listened to medical experts, officer testimony, and witness accounts of the chaotic championship-night clash. Lawyers for Vera highlighted what they said were glaring inconsistencies in officers' stories. The defense countered that officers used reasonable force in an effort to disperse an unruly crowd. After weighing it all, the jury sided with Vera on the key questions of excessive force and violations of his constitutional rights.
Legal fallout and next steps
Plaintiff attorney J. Bernard Alexander III praised the outcome, calling it a clear reminder that "constitutional protections do not disappear during crowd-control operations," as reported by the Los Angeles Daily News. The outlet also notes that plaintiffs played body-worn camera footage in court that they said undercut the city's claim that Vera posed an immediate threat. The city and Alvarez continue to deny any wrongdoing and maintain that officers used reasonable force only after dispersal orders were ignored.
The verdict now stands as a significant financial judgment the city will have to address, and it could be just the start of the legal endgame, with appeals or additional defense motions still on the table.
