The family of a man who was shot and killed by police in Inglewood is planning to sue the city and the police department claiming officers unjustly used lethal force.
During a news conference announcing the lawsuit Monday, Ivan Solis Mora’s mother said her son was not a violent person and never hurt anyone.
“I want you to know my son was a good boy,” Petra Mora said in Spanish. “I always fought for my son, until the end.”
Lawyers representing the family indicated Solis Mora, 34, had a history of mental illness that police were aware of.
Similarly, advocates said Mora was having a mental health crisis and that the situation should have been dealt with differently.
Inglewood police have not released any details about what led up to the fatal shooting on Sept. 21, but a witness said officers were called to a house along South Grevillea Avenue because of a family dispute.
Police first used less-than-lethal force before shooting Mora when he apparently charged at them, the witness said.
“Witnesses in the neighborhood say Ivan was shot in the back, that they saw no weapon, that they heard no command to drop anything or otherwise, that the police just shot Ivan without any provocation or cause,” Cliff Smith, with the Coalition for Community Control Over the Police, said during the news conference.
Lawyers for the family also indicated the Inglewood Police Department needs to invest in body-worn cameras so the public can get a clearer picture of what happens in these types of situations.
