Southern California family files lawsuit after young father shot and killed by police

Loved ones are calling for justice after a Southern California man was shot and killed by police.

A young father of two, Jimmy Lopez, 26, was killed by Hemet police officers on July 4. Family members are now filing a lawsuit against the police department.

On that night, police received a call from a bar in downtown Hemet that an intoxicated man had left the bar while carrying what appeared to be a handgun in his pants.

Officers arrived at the scene and spotted Lopez on the 200 block of East Florida Avenue at around 1:40 a.m. As police made contact with him, a confrontation ensued and Lopez was fatally shot by police.

Investigators later confirmed Lopez was carrying an airsoft pistol at the time and not a firearm.

Hemet police said bodycam footage showed Lopez had allegedly pointed the airsoft gun at officers and that “there was no way for officers to know that at the time” the weapon wasn’t a handgun.

Lopez’s family, however, disagreed and questioned why less-than-lethal methods were not used during the confrontation.

“They could have stunned him,” said Lopez’s grandmother. “They could have done so many other things and he would have been alive today.”

“He was a beloved son, brother, nephew and father,” said Denisse Gastelum, the attorney representing Lopez’s family. “What those police officers did was murder a 26-year-old young man.”

“We want the Hemet Police Department to hold themselves accountable for the choices that they made on July 4th,” said Annie Durocher, Lopez’s aunt.

Video of the incident showed Lopez sitting on a sidewalk with his back against the wall as police arrived at his location that night.

He smoked what appeared to be a vape pen and moments later, he moved his right hand and shots were immediately fired at him. Police later allege that Lopez was seen holding the airsoft pistol at the time.

Lopez’s attorneys, however, claimed Lopez never pulled out the airsoft gun and are calling for justice over the decisions made by police that night.

“First of all, he wasn’t armed with a firearm,” said Christian Contreras, another attorney representing Lopez’s family. “Second of all, the gun that may have been in question, wasn’t a real gun. Sure, the officers may not have known that, but at the same time, when there are reports of such, that should have been transmitted and that’s a fundamental error in policing that occurred here.”

The attorneys also claimed police fired more than 100 shots toward Lopez.

Although it remains unclear what Lopez was doing moments before he was killed, Dennis Zine, a retired Los Angeles police officer, said officers operate with the main goal of neutralizing the situation.

“If the individual reporting to 911 says the individual has a weapon, whether it’s loaded, unloaded, an airsoft or other weapon, they’re saying the man has a gun and officers will go with idea that this individual is armed,” Zine explained. “I would say if the individual has a weapon, whether it’s an airsoft or not, you really can’t tell.”

In a video obtained by KTLA from a nearby business owner, Lopez was seen walking outside while holding a dark object in his hand before the deadly shooting. Moments later, he’s seen stumbling backward into some bushes before eventually getting up and walking away.

The incident remains under investigation by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Force Investigation Detail.

An independent review will be conducted by the California Department of Justice under Assembly Bill 1506 which requires the department to investigate officer-involved shootings that result in the death of an unarmed person.

Hemet police officials said a critical incident video of the deadly shooting will be released in the coming days.

“We are committed to transparency and will provide all relevant information to the public as it becomes available,” Hemet police said. “The Hemet Police Department has and will continue to fully cooperate with all involved law enforcement agencies during this investigation.”

Family members plan to hold a protest on Saturday, July 27 outside the Historic Hemet Theatre in Hemet.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.