Mother of Navy vet killed by LAPD cops awarded $24M

The mother of a man fatally shot by officers with the Los Angeles Police Department should receive $24 million, according to a jury verdict.

LAPD cops killed Jesse Murillo, a 32-year-old Navy veteran, on Dec. 23, 2017 in the San Fernando Valley. Officers Fred Sigman and Christopher Montague fired the fatal shots, but the L.A. district attorney’s office decided not to file criminal charges.

Authorities said Murillo was running at the two officers when they opened fire. Murillo’s mother, Tammy, insisted that her son was running away and said she filed the wrongful death suit to change the narrative around the killing.

“My son never rushed them,” she told the Los Angeles Daily News. “I felt that I had to pursue this. I miss my son very much. He was an amazing young man.”

Cops were called to a home in Canoga Park around 7:15 p.m. on the day of the shooting after a 911 caller said Murillo was involved in a fight at the residence. The first officer on the scene called for backup, claiming Murillo was armed with a machete and a hammer.

Sigman and Montague arrived as the backup. They spotted Murillo carrying a 16-inch pull bar, which they mistook for a machete. The two officers claimed Murillo charged at them with the bar, and they shot him in fear for their safety and the safety of others.

But body-camera video and physical evidence showed Murillo was running away from the cops when they opened fire, attorney Dale Galipo told KNBC.

“The jury believed the officers were exaggerating, fabricating and lying as to what happened,” Galipo told the outlet.

The Los Angeles city attorney’s office is expected to appeal the verdict, but had not formally filed to do so as of Monday, according to the L.A. Times.