Ex-Whittier Police Detectives Charged in Shooting That Left Man Paralyzed

Two ex-Whittier police detectives were charged Wednesday in a 2020 shooting that left a man paralyzed from the waist down.

Cynthia Lopez, 34, and Salvador Murillo, 41, are accused of shooting Nicholas Carrillo on April 30, 2020. Carrillo was suspected in a robbery weeks earlier at a Walmart, the Los Angeles County District Attorney said Wednesday.

The detectives were in an undercover vehicle when they saw a car in the 7700 block of Comstock Avenue that they believed was sought in connection with the earlier robbery, District Attorney George Gascón said. As they approached the vehicle, Carrillo backed up his car and bumped the officers' vehicle before getting out and running away, Gascón said.

The detectives opened fire on both the vehicle and the fleeing suspect, he said.

Lopez allegedly fired shots through the rear windshield of the vehicle while Carrillo was still inside, and fired twice more as he ran away, but missed him, according to Gascón. Both detectives chased Carrillo.

When he tried to climb over a six-foot fence, Murillo allegedly fired again, striking Carrillo twice in the back, the county's top prosecutor said.

"One shot severed his spinal cord, paralyzing him from the waist down," the district attorney said.

Gascón said Carrillo was unarmed, and no weapons were found inside his vehicle.

Lopez was charged with two felony counts of assault under color of authority and one count each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and shooting at an occupied vehicle. Murillo was charged with two felony counts each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm causing great bodily injury and assault under color of authority causing great bodily injury.

Lopez and Murillo are no longer with the Whittier Police Department. It was not immediately clear whether they have attorneys.

Details about an initial court date were not available.