The Los Angeles City Council approved a settlement Tuesday of more than $24 million with the mother of a man who was fatally shot by two police officers at a Canoga Park home in 2017.
Council members voted 11-0 to approve a total of $24,450,750 to the family of Jesse Murillo. Council members Imelda Padilla, Nithya Raman, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Monica Rodriguez were absent during the vote.
In 2023, a federal jury concluded that Tammy Murillo should receive $23.8 million in compensation for the death of her son — one of the largest payouts ever awarded in a case involving an LAPD shooting.
The jury ruled that officers Fred Sigman and Christopher Montague used excessive and unreasonable force in shooting Murillo.
On Dec. 23, 2017, officers responded to a 911 call regarding a family disturbance. The two officers fatally shot 32-year-old Navy veteran Murillo, who held a metal bar that the officers mistook for a machete.
According to testimony, Murillo was involved in a physical altercation with his sister and had put her fiancée in a headlock.
In 2020, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office determined the shooting was “legal.” The city’s Police Commission also found the use of deadly force was within policy.
According to reports, the two officers arrived at the scene after a colleague called for assistance and had described Murillo as holding a machete and hammer.
The officers had said that they feared for their lives when they shot Murillo because he ran toward them while holding the items. Dale Galipo, a prominent civil rights attorney representing Murillo’s family, argued the man was running away from officers when they shot him.
Ultimately, the jury awarded $6.5 million in pre-death pain and suffering, $5.3 million for loss of life, and $12 million for wrongful death damages to Murillo’s mother.
Earlier this month, City Controller Kenneth Mejia released a report showing the city paid nearly $472 million in the last three years for liability claims. Mejia also launched a website detailing the city’s liability claim payouts from fiscal years 2020-23. According to the data, the city has covered about $125.2 million in claims associated with the LAPD, followed by $93.7 million for Los Angeles Sanitation & Environment and $88.4 million for Street Services.
Liability claim payouts usually are not taken out of the budgets of the city departments responsible. Instead, a significant portion comes out of the General Fund, the city’s fund for providing services and resources for Angelenos, the controller’s office noted.
