A lawyer for a 15-year-old youth who was shot and injured by a Los Angeles police officer this year has filed a $20 million claim against the city on behalf of his client, according to the Los Angeles Times.
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John W. Harris, the lawyer for Jamar Nicholson and another teenager, told reporters Wednesday that the teens posed no threat to themselves or others and that the officers “displayed callous disregard” for their well-being, the Times writes.
A claim is usually the first step before a civil suit is filed. Harris said that if the city rejects the claim, he plans to file suit.
The shooting occurred Feb. 10. Nicholson and three of his friends were standing in a South L.A. alley before school when two officers approached the group with guns drawn.
An officer fired shots when he saw a teen holding what he believed to be a real gun but that turned out to be a toy, the report says.
Nicholson, a high school freshman, was struck in the upper back. The officers were from the LAPD’s criminal gang-homicide unit.
“The LAPD shot first and then asked questions later,” Harris said, the Times reports. Nicholson and his friend, 17-year-old Jason Huerta, say the shooting has caused them to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and other harm.
“I see a cop and I get nervous,” Huerta said, according to the Times. “I’ve never really looked at police in a certain way until that day.”
Read more at the Los Angeles Times.
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