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Lawyers Say This In Their Claim Seeking Monetary Damages For Family Of 19 Yr Old Fatally Shot By LBPD Officer


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(May 15, 2015) -- LBREPORT.com provides below the salient text of a claim seeking monetary damages (a prerequisite to filing a formal lawsuit) by lawyers representing the family of Hector Morejon, fatally shot by a veteran LBPD officer on April 23.

As indicates below, the claim seeks "damages in an amount to be ascertained according to proof and in the interests of justice, not less than the monetary minimum required for the jurisdiction of the Superior Court, and in a reasonable amount such as $10,000,000.00 (ten million dollars)." It indicates that claimants "seek punitive damages against all Respondents, including supervisors and Chief Luna, in their individual capacities. Claimants do not seek punitive damages against the municipal Respondents."

Under "Respondents, Names of Public Employees involved" the claim lists "City of Long Beach, the Long Beach Police Department, Chief Robert G. Luna (in his personal and individual capacity and/or in official capacity), Officer Jeffrey A. Meyer, Other Unknown employees and agents of the City of Long Beach, inclusive. These parties are referred to below as "Respondents."

By way of background, LBPD described the shooting in an April 24 release reported at this link. Mr. Morejon's family, through its attorneys, subsequently released a statement, reported at this link.

The officer involved in the April 23 shooting has been with LBPD for over 20 years, received commendations in 1997 and 1998 and was involved in a taser use of force reported here..

In 2002, the officer was involved in a shooting after he spotted a suspect in a shooting from three days earlier reported here. LBPD says the officer gave chase on foot; the suspect pulled a handgun out of his pocket, ultimately pointed the gun at the officer; the officer fired a shot which missed the suspect; the suspect was taken into custody by another officer; the suspect was convicted; no criminal charges were filed against the officer and LBPD determined his actions were within policy.

[Scroll down for further.]


[Attachment to claim form, paragraph numbering omitted]

...What Happened.

On or about April 23, 2015, at or near 2:30 p.m., Officer Jeffrey A. Meyer and on information and belief other Doe Officers 1-5, arrived at a location on or near 1150 Hoffman Ave., Long Beach. Officer Jeffrey A. Meyer, or other officers, did not identify himself as he approached the building and looked from the outside into the inside of the building. Officer Meyer did not give any warnings or commands to any person inside the building or to Hector Morejon who was unarmed and posed no physical threat of injury or harm to anyone. As Officer Meyer looked inside the building and saw Hector Morejon, who was unarmed and could not cause harm to Officer Meyer, Officer Meyer and/or doe officers 1-5, shot Hector Morejon with a firearm, acted with reckless disregard, deliberate indifference and/or objectively unreasonably, intentionally and/or negligently shooting and causing grave bodily injury and pain to Hector Morejon, and his ultimate death.

Hector Morejon had the right:

  • To be free from an unreasonable ongoing seizure as secured by Cal. Const. Article 1, Sections 7 and 13 and the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments;

  • The right to be free from objectively unreasonable response and/or deliberate indifference to Hector Morejon's serious medical needs subsequent to being shot, while in the custody and control of Respondents, as secured by Cal. Const. Article 1, Sections 7 and 17 and the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments;

  • The right to be free from wrongful government interference with familial relationships, and Claimants' right to companionship, society and support of each other, as secured by Cal. Const. Article 1, Sections 1 and 7, and by the First and Fourteenth Amendments;

  • The right to enjoy and defend life and liberty, acquire, possess and protect property, and pursue and obtain safety, happiness and privacy, as secured by the Cal. Const. Article 1, Sections 1;

  • The right to medical care as required by Cal. Gov. Code section 845.6.

Respondents violated their general duties of reasonable care owed to Claimants not limited to the following:

  • to use generally accepted law enforcement procedures that are reasonable and appropriate for Claimants;

  • To refrain from using unnecessary and excessive force and abusing the authority granted them by law;

  • To refrain from abusing Claimants' rights guaranteed them by the California Constitution (as set forth above);

  • Supervising Respondents, including Chief of Police Robert G. Luna, in his personal and individual capacity and Doe 1-10, had duties of reasonable and due care owed to Claimants including but not limited to:

    • To properly and reasonably hire, supervise, train, retain, investigate, monitor, evaluate, and discipline each officers and persons who were responsible for the officers who shot and killed Hector Morejon;

    • to properly and adequately hire, supervise, train, retain, investigate, monitor, evaluate, and discipline their employees, agents, and/or law enforcement officers to ensure that those employees/agents/officers act at all times in the public interest and in conformance with law;

    • To make, enforce, and at all times act in conformance with policies and customs that are lawful and protective of individual rights, including Claimants;

    • To refrain from making, enforcing, tolerating, condoning or ratifying the wrongful and unconstitutional policies, customs, practices that are the moving force in creating, condoning, and/or ratifying wrongful conduct that Doe Respondents and Chief of Police Robert G. Luna knew or reasonable could have known would cause their subordinates to violate the Constitutional rights of persons, such as Claimants;

Why is City of Long Beach Responsible? Names of public employees involved:

See, names of public employees involved (and presently unknown doe employees) above under Respondents.

City of Long Beach is responsible for its employees, for having a custom, practice or policy of unconstitutional conduct, for condoning and ratifying its employees and agents misconduct, and responsible as respondeat superior for its employees and agents.

As a direct and proximate result of Respondents' violations of the California Civil Code Sections 43, 51, 52.1 and under the California Constitution, Claimants suffered injuries and damages, including all damages and treble damages allowed by California Civil Code Sections 43, 51, 52.1 and California Law, not limited to costs, attorneys' fees, and civil penalties. Claimants also seek punitive damages against all Respondents, including supervisors and Chief Luna, in their individual capacities. Claimants do not seek punitive damages against the municipal Respondents.

Negligence claims:

he individual Respondents, who are responsible for the shooting at Hector Morejon, were negligent in their duties as law enforcement officers, negligent in the manner in which they used force, and this negligence caused the harm, pain and suffering, and emotional distress, death and other damages alleged by the Claimants. These individual Respondents, who are responsible for the shooting, and each of them, were improperly and negligently hired, trained, retained and supervised by their respective supervisors. Hector Morejon suffered severe pain and anguish and subsequently died and Lucia Morejon is also harmed as a result of the negligence of Respondents Long Beach Police Department personnel. In shooting at Hector Morejon, acting within the scope and course of their employments, said unknown Respondent Long Beach personnel negligently, carelessly and unskillfully failed to possess and exercise that degree of skill and knowledge ordinarily possessed and exercised by others in the same profession and in the same locality as defendants. They breached their duties as police officers as set forth and trained by the California Police Officer Standards and Training. They had a propensity to use excessive force, and their supervisors knew, or should have known, of that improper propensity, and they failed to supervise, train, discipline or remove these individual Respondents; and they further condoned and ratified their subordinates' wrongful conduct.

The individual Respondents, who are responsible for the shooting and each of them, committed an assault and battery on the person of Hector Morejon.

Unknown Respondents and City of Long Beach, the Long Beach Police Department, Chief Robert G. Luna, Officer Jeffrey A. Meyer, other unknown officers and employees and agents of the City of Long Beach, inclusive caused and are responsible for the unlawful conduct and resulting harm by, inter alia, negligently failed to supervise, train and monitor their subordinates, to maintain proper supervision, classification and staffing, personally participating in the conduct, or acting jointly and in concert with others who did so; by conspiring to falsify evidence; destroying critical evidence; by authorizing, acquiescing or approving the unlawful conduct; by promulgating policies and procedures pursuant to which the unlawful conduct occurred; by failing and refusing, with deliberate indifference to Claimants' rights, to initiate and maintain adequate training, supervision and staffing; by failing to maintain proper and adequate policies, procedures and protocols; and by condoning, ratifying and approving the unlawful conduct performed by agents and officers.

Each Respondent, as set forth above, acted in violation of the claimants' civil rights, including but not limited to rights guaranteed the Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Art. 1 Sec. 13 of the California Constitution, the Civil Code of California, including §§ 43, 51, 52 and 52.1, and all the applicable subsections following.

Lucia Morejon and the Estate of Hector Morejon claim Respondents are liable and responsible for violating Claimants' rights under California Civil Code §§ 43, 51, 52 and 52.1, and the clearly-established rights under the California and United States Constitutions and California law:

As a result of the of the unreasonable use of lethal force and failure to supervise by the above listed Respondents and City of Long Beach, the Long Beach Police Department, Chief Robert G. Luna, Officer Jeffrey A. Meyer, and other unknown doe employees and agents of the City of Long Beach, inclusive, Hector Morejon suffered severe pain and injury and ultimately died on April 23, 2015.

Give Total Amount of Claim.

The Claimants claim as damages in an amount to be ascertained according to proof and in the interests of justice, not less than the monetary minimum required for the jurisdiction of the Superior Court, and in a reasonable amount such as $10,000,000.00 (ten million dollars).

How was amount of claim computed?

The Estate of Hector Morejon claims damages as allowable under Cal. Code of Civil Procedure § 377.20. Lucia Morejon claims damages as allowable under Cal. Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60 and violation of their rights as described in the preceding section. The claim is computed according to the value of life of Hector Morejon who was only 19 years old, unarmed and non-threatening.

...Dated: May 13, 2015

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