A jury this week awarded $1.05 million to the family of a 19-year-old man who was fatally shot by Long Beach police in November 2013 after fleeing a traffic stop.
The jury found that officers violated the civil rights of Tyler Woods’ parents when they shot Woods, said Brian Dunn of Los Angeles-based The Cochran Firm, who represented the family.
Attorneys also disclosed Thursday that the city of Long Beach will pay $1.9 million to the infant son of Woods in a settlement reached the day before trial began on June 14.
Long Beach City Attorney Charles Parkin said Thursday afternoon that he was disappointed in the verdict.
“We are reviewing our options including the possibility of appealing that decision,” Parkin said.
The case
Woods’ parents, Trevor and Tyra Woods, were represented by Dunn and John Fattahi, a Glendale-based attorney. Woods’ son was represented by Woodland Hills-based attorney Dale Galipo and Fattahi, according to a prepared statement from the attorneys.
The case was filed October 2014 on behalf of Woods’ parents, who have been incarcerated since Woods was a child.
His mother is due to be released from custody in 10 months, Fattahi said, and Trevor Woods currently faces incarceration until 2037.
The jury deliberated for less than two hours before returning a unanimous verdict late Wednesday, the attorneys said.
Woods’ death came during a rash of officer-involved shooting in Long Beach that drew regional criticism and scrutiny of the department. His was the 20th of 22 officer-involved shootings that year (six were fatal and five resulted in a suspect being wounded by gunfire; the other shootings included missed hits, shots fired at animals or an accidental weapons discharge).
The shooting
Woods was wanted in connection with a carjacking in Los Angeles and was named in an arrest warrant that described him as an armed and dangerous felon, though no weapon was found at the scene, according to a statement from police at the time.
Woods reportedly ran from officers at the traffic stop near Walnut Avenue and Third Street at about 2:30 a.m. Nov. 19, 2013, according to a police statement. About an hour later, a resident near the 1500 block of Fifth Street reported hearing someone climbing on his roof, and that the intruder may have been hiding in a laundry room.
A Los Angeles Police Department helicopter helped in the search and gave out several commands over a public address system asking for Woods to surrender.
Woods reportedly tried to break into a few units at an apartment complex in the 400 block of Nebraska Avenue, police said.
During the search, a woman called to report she found a man standing on her balcony, police said. Soon thereafter, Woods ended up on the roof of the apartment building near Fourth Street and Nebraska Avenue.
“Once on the roof, the suspect took a kneeling position and began to turn toward” police, according to the police statement.
Police shot Woods shortly thereafter.
Shots fired
Cpl. John Fagan and Officer Daniel Martinez, who were named in the lawsuit, fired 37 shots at Woods, striking Woods at least 19 times, the attorneys said in their statement. Fourteen of the shots struck Woods in the back.
“Fagan admitted at trial that the officers fired the first volley of shots while Woods was climbing onto a roof with his empty hands visible,” the attorneys said. “Martinez admitted that the third volley was fired after the officers saw Woods attempting to
drag his prone, wounded body away from the officers using his elbow.”
Police officials said in a statement that “the officers discharged their weapons believing the suspect was about to fire at them.”
Galipo, Fattahi and Dunn point to a police dispatch broadcast stating that Woods was patted down by an officer before he fled the traffic stop, but that the officers claimed they did not hear that broadcast.
Testimony
Fattahi said strong testimony made by civilian witnesses helped the family’s case.
“Multiple independent witnesses testified that Woods did not appear to be armed or threatening, and he put his hands up as if to surrender during the shots, but the officers continued to fire multiple additional rounds until he stopped moving,” the attorneys said.
The attorneys said an LAPD helicopter officer testified that he was “surprised” Woods was shot and Woods did not turn toward the officers but only appeared to be trying to crawl away from them.
Family
Shortly after the shooting, family and friends remembered Woods’ goofy, silly sense of humor and his care for his younger sister Kyra, and his baby son Nye, who was 1 at the time of the shooting.
The shooting prompted Woods’ family and friends, as well as community members, to march through Long Beach streets to the police station shortly after the shooting.
