Mother Of Man Shot 3 Times In The Back By Anaheim Police Files Claim
ANAHEIM (CBS) — The mother of a 23-year-old who was fatally shot as he was running from Anaheim police filed a claim with the city Thursday, a precursor to a lawsuit.
Maria Lopez, the mother of David Raya, filed a claim for unspecified damages, her attorney Richard Herman said. If city officials reject the claim, as is likely, Lopez will file a federal civil rights lawsuit, Herman said.
Raya, a parolee who had been ducking authorities, was at his girlfriend's home at 184 W. Guinida Lane during the afternoon of Aug. 16 when he saw police were coming to arrest him, Herman said.
Raya was shot three times in the back, Herman said.
Herman also represents the family of Cesar Cruz, who was killed in an officer-involved shooting in Anaheim Dec. 11, 2009. That civil rights lawsuit is before a federal judge in Los Angeles and is scheduled to go to trial in March, Herman said.
"Neither Mr. Raya nor Mr. Cruz presented any resistance to the city of Anaheim police death squad, nor in Mr. Raya's case did he do anything but run away, and was shot three times in the back causing him to bleed to death," Herman said.
Efforts to reach city officials for comment were not immediately successful.
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