Dale K. Galipo, Eric Valenzuela, and Renée Valentine Masongsong of the Law Offices of Dale K. Galipo obtained a landmark $17,200,000 verdict against the city of Los Angeles. They represented the French family, who were shot by an off-duty LAPD officer in a crowded Costco. While waiting in line, Officer Salvador Sanchez was slapped on the back of his head by a cognitively impaired 32-year-old named Kenneth French. Parents Russel and Paola French, who accompanied Kenneth, attempted to apologize and back away. However, Officer Sanchez drew his department-issued handgun and fired his weapon at the family. Russel and Paola were each struck in the back trying to protect Kenneth, who was fatally shot four times.

More than a year after the shooting, Dale, Eric, and Renée subpoenaed the investigative materials from the Corona Police Department and requested that Costco release the surveillance footage. Unfortunately, only one CCTV camera on the opposite end of the store captured the shooting. In addition, the video and audio were incomprehensible. Thus, they contacted DK Global to reconstruct the incident with an animation to show what occurred.

To safeguard its admissibility, the attorneys called on Dr. Bennet Omalu — the renowned forensic pathologist who discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy in football players — to examine the evidence, describe the bullets’ trajectories, and explain the Plaintiffs’ resulting damages. Next, they brought DK Global onboard to reconstruct the deadly event as a 3D animated presentation. Dr. Omalu collaborated directly with DK Global’s animators to verify that the visual supported his testimony at trial.

The Costco’s interior was recreated and showed 3D models of Kenneth, Paola, and Russel shopping. Kenneth waited behind Sanchez and struck his head. Sanchez dropped to the floor and unholstered his gun. Russel and Paola stood in the way, explaining Kenneth’s condition to deescalate the situation. The animation juxtaposed the grainy surveillance footage with the animation as it replayed, clarifying the sequence of events: Russel led Kenneth down a frozen-food aisle to create distance from Officer Sanchez. As Sanchez fired his gun, Paola jumped in front of her husband and son to shield them. The bullets’ trajectories were recreated using Dr. Omalu’s direction, the medical records, and the forensic evidence collected at the scene.

Dr. Omalu was called to the stand on the last day of direct examination. The jury sat on the edge of their seats as he described the bullet trajectories. Then, he concluded with the DK Global animation. Dale fervently delivered his closing arguments and asserted that the City of Los Angeles needed to take responsibility for Officer Sanchez’s actions. The jury returned with a verdict in just a couple of hours, finding Officer Sanchez and the City of Los Angeles responsible for the shooting. They awarded Russel and Paola French $17,200,000 for their injuries and the loss of their son.

Dale K. Galipo has been an attorney for 32 years and is regarded as one of the most accomplished civil rights lawyers. Initially focusing on personal injury and criminal defense, Dale shifted his specialty to representing those involved in civil rights cases against the police. Dale has obtained nearly 100 seven-figure verdicts and settlements, prevailing in more than 50 jury trials in the last eight years.

Since 2012, Senior Associate Eric Valenzuela has specialized in litigating civil rights and police misconduct cases, contributing to numerous multi-million-dollar verdicts. Recently, Super Lawyers selected Eric as a “Rising Star” for successfully litigating excessive force cases involving novel law issues.

For ten years, Renée Valentine Masongsong has dedicated her practice to litigating civil rights police excessive force cases, attaining numerous multi-million-dollar jury verdicts. In 2020 alone, Renée prevailed in holding the cities of Los Angeles and West Covina responsible for serious police misconduct, securing her clients a combined $8 million in settlements and verdicts.