The family of a man who was run over and killed by an on-duty Downey police officer last October has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
Raymond Lavalle was walking his bike near the San Gabriel Riverbed when an officer ran over him with his patrol car. The officer left the scene without rendering aid and didn’t call an ambulance, according to attorney Luis Carillo.
“He hit him, he ran over him, and he left him there to die like a dog,” Carillo said.
Attorney Michael Carrillo said the family didn't learn until later after an investigation by Whittier Police that Lavalle was actually hit by an officer.
“The family was never told that it was an officer-involved hit-and-run,” he said. “The family was told that it was just a hit-and-run and that he died, and that’s it.”
According to a statement from the Downey Police Department, the district attorney’s office deemed the collision a “tragic accident,” saying it happened in a dark area with poor visibility while the officer was pursuing a suspect. The DA’s office declined to file charges.
But Lavalle’s family believes the officer should be prosecuted for a hit-and-run.
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“I just want justice,” Lavalle’s son Joseph said. “Whether it's an officer or somebody who isn’t an officer, it doesn’t matter. Everybody’s life matters, you know, we all bleed the same, we all breathe the same, so there should be no difference in how we see each other as people.”
The family wants the Downey Police Department to take action and the DA to charge the officer with a crime.
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