Two former Whittier police detectives accused of shooting at an unarmed, mentally ill man during a 2020 foot chase and at least one severing his spinal cord to leave him paralyzed from the waist down have been charged with assault.
District Attorney George Gascón said Wednesday, April 12, the former detectives were charged with two counts each of assault under the color of authority. Under California law, police officers can face the misdemeanor charge if they’re accused of abuses while on the job.
The former officers were also accused of assault with a firearm for shooting at Nicholas Carrillo, a Whittier man diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, as he ran from them through an alley and as he attempted to vault over a fence.
Carrillo now uses a wheelchair and has no use of his legs.
He was not the person the detectives were looking for — they were actually looking for his passenger, a woman accused of stealing a television from a Target on a prior day, authorities said.
In the Target incident, Gascón said, a store employee attempted to stop the unarmed woman but she sped away in her car. No one was injured.
Gascón said as the officers, both in plainclothes and in an unmarked vehicle, pulled up behind Carrillo, then got out and approached his car. Carrillo then drove backward, authorities said, bumping the officers’ vehicle — which prompted the first shots, with one of the detectives opening fire on Carrillo’s car.
As Carrillo got out and ran, the officers pursued him. As he tried to climb over the fence, authorities said, the officers again shot at him, with at least one hitting him in the spine.
Carrillo sued the city of Whittier in 2020, settling for $1 million.
Both former officers were expected to appear in court next week, Gascón said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Read the full article here
