The family of a man who was shot and killed by an L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy in Carson last year has filed a federal civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit against the department and one of its deputies.
According to the Sheriff's Department, deputies were called to a gas station in Carson on Aug. 7th, 2023, to investigate a person causing a disturbance and screaming.
The report said that when deputies arrived on the scene, they located the suspect, Arturo Cernas, and noticed the butt of a handgun protruding from his pants pocket.
Stills pulled from LASD deputy bodycam footageLASD via Carrillo Law Firm, LLP
KNX News' Margaret Carrero reports, one of the family's lawyers, Dominique Boubion, says the facts of the case will not match the department's claims.
On bodycam footage released by the family, deputies can be heard telling Cernas to keep his hands on his head and leave his phone alone. "What you don't hear," Boubion said, "is drop the weapon, put the weapon away, don't touch the weapon."
According to the department, deputies gave Cernas numerous orders to keep his hands up and not reach for or remove the gun from his pocket, but he ignored the warnings. Boubion said there was never any mention of a firearm or weapon of any kind prior to the shooting.
A CO2 BB pistol was recovered at the scene, according to the LASD, and to that, Boubion says, "If that was, in fact, a BB gun that was on his person, I think the record will show that [deputies] did not know until after the fact."
LASD via Carrillo Law Firm, LLP
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Cernas' mother said her son had schizophrenia, struggled with drug addiction, and was living on the street - "I just want justice because it was not right what they did to my son," she said.
Attorney Michael Carrillo represents some of the family, and he said justice means prosecuting the deputy for shooting Cernas in the back four times, killing him.
Though the department says Cernas ignored their commands, Carrillo said body cam footage shows Cernas complying with the officers.
"They asked him to get on his knees, and he did. He was showing some erratic behavior, and then he took something out of his pocket, which appeared to be a BB pistol," said Carrillo, and that's when he's shot and killed.
LASD via Carrillo Law Firm, LLP
Carrillo asserts that even if a suspect has a weapon in their hand, the officers are trained not to shoot. "If somebody is complying, they're back to you, and there is no immediate defense of life; you cannot shoot and kill somebody," the lawyer said.
KNX News contacted Sheriff Robert Luna, who said he had not seen the lawsuit and thought commenting would be inappropriate.
The LASD issued the following statement:
“The Department has not officially received this lawsuit but takes all deputy-involved shootings seriously. The Department has released a critical incident video and summary on our public transparency page. With any deputy-involved shooting, there is a robust review process, which includes the Office of Inspector General, where every aspect of the shooting is thoroughly examined and evaluated to see if Department policies and procedures were followed. Additionally, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Justice System Integrity Division, conducts a legal analysis to determine whether any criminal charges will be filed and if the shooting was legally justified. The Department is deeply committed to protecting our diverse communities without bias and prejudice.”
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