Council Settles Lawsuits Re Fatal LBPD Shootings: Hector Morejon, 19 = $1.5 Mil; Jason Conoscenti, 36 36 = $2.0 Mil; Plaintiffs Sought $10+ Mil In Each Case

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(August 10, 2016, 11:05 a.m.) -- In an August 9 closed session, the City Council has voted to settle two federal court cases involving LBPD shootings that resulted in fatalities. On 9-0 votes, the Council to pay settlement sums (includes plaintiff attorney fees) as follows:

$1.5 million re Hector Morejon (April 2015: officer responds to property owner call for service, finds 19 yr old in vacant Central LB apt. with walls allegedly covered with gang graffiti, he's observed crouching, turns, officer shoots, no gun found.) [LBREPORT.com coverage here, here and here. A claim filed with the City prior to filing the court suit sought "a reasonable amount not less than $10 million dollars."]
$2.0 million re Jason Conoscenti (April 2014: 36 yr old man pursued by LASD from Compton store ends at Ocean Blvd./14th St. Pl.; Sheriff deputies fire less-than-lethal rounds as he runs down stairs to beach; LBPD officer below on beach hears gun shots above, sees fleeing man and without knowing details, shoots.) Plaintiff attorneys sought over $10 million. [LBREPORT.com coverage here.]

In June 2016, the City Council settled two cases totaling $3 million brought by the familymembers in the fatal shooting of Tyler Woods, 19, who ran from police after a Nov. 2013 traffic stop and went to the roof of an occupied apartment building. Officers fired 37 rounds, struck him at least 19 times, and subsequently learned he was unarmed.

Still pending: lawsuits filed by the family of John Del Real 39, fatally shot when a plainclothes narcotics officer said he allegedly approached him in a threatening manner; the family of Feras Morad, 20, killed after ingesting some substance and jumping through a second story window; and Carey Smith-Viramontes, 18, fatally shot after allegedly using a knife to threaten an individual.