The parents of an unarmed man who was fatally shot by officers before being hit by a Los Angeles Police Department patrol car are demanding prosecution, according to the family’s attorneys.
“I’m never going to be able to hug my son again. We’re never going to be able to spend holidays with him again. He’s not here with us,” said Valerie Rivera, the victim’s mother.
Eric Rivera was fatally shot on June 7 after Officers Arturo Urrutia and Daniel Ramirez were called to the 1100 block of North Wilmington Boulevard in Wilmington regarding a man with a gun, the LAPD said.
There, they encountered 20-year-old Eric Rivera and an officer-involved shooting occurred. Police did not provide details on what lead to the shooting.
“Believing this may be the suspect from the radio call, they directed their attention toward him; at that time there was an officer-involved shooting,” the department states in the press release.
After Eric Rivera was shot the officers’ car moved forward, struck him and pinned him underneath, according to LAPD.
The family’s attorney told KTLA that both officers jumped out of their patrol car without putting the vehicle in park when they encountered Eric Rivera. He tried to jump out of the way of the moving car when he was shot seven times, the family said.
One of the officers jumped back into the car and attempted to stop the vehicle but was not able to.
The car then struck Eric Rivera, pinning him against the wall of an apartment building, underneath the car, according to the family’s attorney.
His body was described as “literally mangled” and a crane was needed to remove the car off of Eric Rivera’s body, the attorney said.
“What they did was very wrong and they need to prosecuted. Something needs to be done,” said Philip Malik, Eric Rivera’s father.
LAPD said they recovered a toy gun, which Eric Rivera’s parents said was a water squirt gun, at the scene.
Rivera’s parents are willing to drop their federal civil rights lawsuit if Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey agrees to prosecute the officers involved, according to Casillas & Associates, the law firm representing the family.
“This is a negligent homicide. Jackie Lacey do your job,” one attorney said at a press conference.
The family will pursue a wrongful death lawsuit if the DA does not pursue charges, the firm added.
Officer Urrutia and Officer Ramirez are still cleared to work in the filed, according to the LAPD.