Jury sides with LAPD officer William Jones in Valentina Orellana-Peralta lawsuit
Updated
Updated · Los Angeles Times · May 7
Jury sides with LAPD officer William Jones in Valentina Orellana-Peralta lawsuit
14 articles · Updated · Los Angeles Times · May 7
The 9-3 Los Angeles County verdict cleared Jones over the 2021 North Hollywood Burlington shooting that killed the 14-year-old when his rifle round pierced a changing-room wall.
Defense lawyers said Jones believed he was confronting an active shooter and missed radio updates that the suspect, Daniel Elena-Lopez, had a bicycle lock, not a gun.
The family argued officers told Jones to slow down before he fired three shots; the killing sparked outrage, and LAPD leaders later found at least part of his gunfire out of policy.
A police rifle killed a teen in a dressing room. Does this tragedy reveal a fatal flaw in modern police training?
When an officer violates policy but not the law, where can a victim's family turn for justice?