LOS ANGELES – A mistrial was declared in a lawsuit in which the mother of a man fatally shot by sheriff’s deputies sued Los Angeles County and two deputies for excessive force, but the case is likely to be heard again in state court, an attorney said Wednesday.
The mistrial was declared Monday in Los Angeles federal court in the trial of litigation brought by Lisa Vargas, mother of Anthony Vargas.
The suit alleging unreasonable or excessive force contends that 21- year-old Anthony Vargas was the victim of a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department “policy of shooting unarmed victims.”
U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong had excluded evidence alleging involvement in deputy gangs, a central theory of the plaintiff’s case.
The LASD said the shooting occurred around 2 a.m. on Aug. 12, 2018, in the 500 block of Colonia De Las Magnolias and that a semi-automatic handgun was recovered at the scene.
Deputies answering a robbery call at the housing complex were directed to a group of people who ran in different directions when they tried to talk to them, authorities said at the time. The deputies called for backup and one arriving deputy drove through the complex and found a man walking in a courtyard, according to the sheriff’s department.
The man looked at deputies and began to run, but fell as they attempted to detain him and a fight ensued, according to the LASD. During the fight, the man pulled a handgun from his waistband and both deputies fired their duty weapons at the suspect, who was struck and died at the scene, the LASD said.
But the lawsuit disputes that account, stating that Vargas was unarmed and posed no threat to Deputies Nikolis Perez and Jonathan Rojas or any other deputy.
“Moreover, (Anthony Vargas) was leaving the scene of the incident,” the suit states. “There was no crime in progress.”
Vargas also was not given immediate aid after being shot, according to the lawsuit.
“The delay of (getting) medical care to (Vargas) caused (him) extreme physical and emotional pain and suffering and was a contributing cause (to his) death,” according to the suit, which seeks damages.
“There was a significant amount of evidence presented (for the plaintiff),” plaintiff’s counsel Christian Contreras said Wednesday.
The attorney said that during the trial, it was established that the weapon recovered at scene did not show Anthony Vargas’ DNA or any fingerprints or blood. Since the man was shot 13 times, including in the arm that allegedly held the gun, that finding was unusual, Contreras said.
“Also, the gun was registered to a man in Arizona and never reported stolen,” he said.
Contreras said the trial went well for the plaintiff, but added that not even “the best lawyer in the world” can overcome a juror’s pre-conceived notions about law enforcement.
“We said we are not anti-police, but when there are bad police officers, they should be held accountable,” Contreras said.
A hearing is set for next Tuesday before a federal magistrate judge to discuss a settlement and a motion to dismiss remaining claims in federal court. During a hearing following the mistrial, Contreras indicated that his client wished to dismiss the federal claims and remand the case to state court.
