The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Monday felony charges against a former Los Angeles police officer in connection with the 2019 fatal shooting of a disabled man inside a Costco in Corona.
“Where there’s reason to believe a crime has been committed, we will seek justice,” said Attorney General Bonta in a statement.
Ex-LAPD officer Salvador Sanchez was taken into custody on the morning of Aug. 9 in Riverside County.
Sanchez was off duty at the time he shot and killed 32-year-old Kenneth French of Riverside.
French was reportedly standing in line at a sample station inside the Costco in Corona Hills Plaza. His parents, Paula and Russell French, were also shot and critically wounded, but survived.
Dale Galipo, an attorney for the French family, has described Kenneth as intellectually disabled, schizophrenic and nonverbal. It has been theorized by family members that French may have bumped into Sanchez, and being unable to express himself, could not apologize or explain the contact.
In the shooting’s aftermath, body-camera footage captured by a responding Corona police officer shed light on some of Sanchez’s story. The officer was holding his young son in the refrigerated section of the store when he saw “a blast” and felt his “head get knocked out.”
He said fell to the ground and dropped his son, then saw French, who he believed to be armed, assuming what he perceived to be an aggressive posture. Sanchez then proceeded to open fire on French and his parents.
A Riverside County grand jury declined to indct Sanchez in 2019. However, following review of the incident by the Bonta’s office, Sanchez now faces three felony charges for the shooting.
“That’s exactly what these charges are about: pursuing justice after an independent and thorough review of the evidence and the law. Ultimately, any loss of life is a tragedy and being licensed to carry a gun doesn’t mean you're not accountable for how you use it. No matter who you are, nobody is above the law," said Bonta.
Galipo, however, said the timing of the case is "suspicious" with the trial in the family's civil suit against the city of L.A. set to start in October. He speculated the city may try to get out of paying damages if Sanchez is convicted of a crime.
“Obviously, the family thought the charges should have been brought against him early on,” said Galipo.
A 2020 review of the case by the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners determined that French’s conduct did not present an imminent threat to Sanchez, and that his subsequent use of deadly force was not “objectively reasonable.” That finding led the LAPD to terminate Sanchez’s employment.
LAPD Chief Michael Moore issued an apology to the French family, saying Sanchez’s actions “cannot be justified.”
A copy of the attorney general’s complaint is available to read here.