The family of a man shot and killed by a California Highway Patrol Officer on I-105 announced they are filing a damages claim against the agency.
On Nov. 19, an officer responded to a call of a man walking in the traffic lanes on the I-105 Freeway near Watts. The man, 34-year-old Jesse Dominguez, refused to cooperate and a struggle ensued between the officer and Dominguez, according to law enforcement.
Video circulating on social media showed the officer shooting Dominguez seven times.
The CHP claimed Dominguez used a stun gun on the officer. The family acknowledged that Dominguez had a taser for protection, but do not believe he used it on the officer.
Luis Carillo, the family’s attorney, said during a news conference in Pasadena that Dominiguez’s taser does not justify his death.
“A taser is not a gun,” he said. “A taser does not kill. For him to blast him to kingdom come means that this officer does not deserve to be a police officer.
He deserves to be arrested, locked up in jail, and processed like a criminal because he crossed the line.”
Carillo called the CHP officer a “trigger-happy cop.”
“You can't shoot a defenseless man on the ground that many times unless you have animus in your heart instead of reverence for human life,” he said.
Attorney General Rob Bonta previously announced that the California Department of Justice is investigating the shooting.
KNX News has reached out to CHP for comment.
Carrillo said the officer should face criminal charge.
McOsker called the video "shocking" and said the shooting must be "fully investigated expeditiously."
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