A 15-year-old boy who was shot in the back by Los Angeles police officers has filed a $20 million claim against the department as debate surrounds the chain of events in the shooting.
When he was testing out a new cologne with his friends in an alley on their way to school on Feb. 10, Jamar Nicholson didn’t know how his life was about to change.
"It’s like seeing a ghost, because this is where you got shot at and where you almost lost your life at," he said on Wednesday as he looked around the alley off Florence and 10th streets for the first time in nearly two months.
It was there where the 15-year-old Nicholson, 17-year-old Jason Huerta and two other friends had gathered, like that had on most days before school. But on that day, Nicholson says two men in collared shirts and ties, ran up to the group and opened fire.
Huerta said he thought they were gang members when he heard the shots ring out.
When the silence returned, Nicholson had been shot in the back.
"Deadly force should be used only as a last resort," said attorney John Harris, who is representing Nicholson and Huerta in a $20 million claim against the city of Los Angeles. "In this case, LAPD shot first and then asked questions later."
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Nicholson and Huerta say the officers never announced themselves, only fired. It’s a very different story than what LAPD said happened that morning.
LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith says the officers had been driving by when they saw one of the boys pointing a gun at another person.
Smith said the officers ordered the boy to drop the weapon and when he didn’t, an officer-involved shooting happened.
Nicholson and Huerta maintain the gun — which turned out to be a toy gun with an orange tip — was never raised or pointed at anyone. Nicholson's mother says LAPD's handling of the case has left her with questions about their training and policies.
"I would like to know why they shot my son who didn’t have the replica gun," Geraldine Nicholson said. "And (why they) didn’t shoot the kid that had the gun."
LAPD admits Nicholson was not the boy they had seen with the gun, but his mother says the whole incident has caused her to lose trust in the department and continue to fear for the safety of her son.
The three other boys in the group were not injured but were questioned at LAPD’s 77th Division after the incident.
Harris said he believes the shooting was racially motivated.
"Our young black and brown children should not be fair game," Harris said.
But while he claimed "two white detectives" shot at the boys, LAPD named only Officer Miguel Gutierrez as being the one involved. Gutierrez has been with LAPD since 2002 and has returned to full duties.
Harris is representing both Nicholson and Huerta in their claim against the city. By law the city has 45 days to respond before the claim becomes an official lawsuit.
"Deadly force should be used only as a last resort. In this case, LAPD shot first and then asked questions later," Harris said.
Nicholson said he’s been seeing a therapist since the incident because of nightmares that he says won’t go away.
"I had a dream that the bullet came out of my mouth and when I woke up my wound was bleeding," Nicholson said. "So that’s scary."
