Family Of Valentina Orellana Peralta Said Lapd Was Poorly Trained Supervised Lawsuit

The parents of Valentina Orellana Peralta also allege Burlington employees failed to alert people inside the North Hollywood, California, store on Dec. 23 when Daniel Elena Lopez entered the building and began acting erratically and threatening shoppers. The family is suing the LAPD, Burlington Stores, Inc. and others for wrongful death, negligence and infliction of emotional distress. In the lawsuit, the family said the LAPD officers failed in their duties and were “poorly supervised” and “poorly trained.” They also claimed that the officers who responded to the scene have a “history of inappropriate use of force and improper discharge of their firearms” but were never disciplined, retrained or removed from the department. The family of Valentina Orellana-Peralta will sue the LAPD for wrongful death, negligence and infliction of emotional distress. EPAValentina Orellana Peralta died when a bullet fired by a police officer struck her at a store in Burlington. Valentina Orellana’s family According to the LAPD, Lopez, 24, became violent and assaulted several shoppers, including a woman he hit with a heavy-duty cable lock. In a graphic 35-minute video of the incident released by the LAPD, Lopez is seen dragging the bleeding woman between aisles of clothing. When police arrived at the store, body camera footage showed LAPD Officer William Dorsey Jones, Jr. leading the charge and holding an AR-15 rifle while other officers could be heard saying “quiet.” The officers saw the bleeding woman crawling away and another officer yelled “Stop! Hold on,” shortly before Jones fired three shots, according to the Associated Press. One of the bullets fired from Jones’ rifle pierced the wall of the dressing room. Blood-curdling screams could be heard from inside the dressing room where Valentina and her mother, Soledad Peralta, were hiding, according to the video. “Although there is no doubt at this point that store customers were at risk, defendant Burlington’s employees did not use the store’s intercom or otherwise to advise store customers or warn customers in the back of the store of the evolving situation,” the lawsuit says. .
“Officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, including defendant William Dorsey Jones Jr., entered the store and, despite knowing that the store had not been evacuated and that citizens were still inside, recklessly discharged a firearm issued by the department, a high-powered AR-15 Assault Rifle, without warning to Daniel Elena Lopez, who was neither armed with a firearm nor causing bodily injury to anyone,” according to the lawsuit. They added, “Following the shooting, the officers delayed in obtaining any medical attention for either the deceased Valentina Orellana Peralta or the plaintiff Soledad Peralta, which was confirmed by witnesses that the defendant officers did not seek immediate medical attention or take necessary life-saving measures . “ The family of Valentina Orellana Peralta said LAPD officers were “poorly supervised” and “poorly trained.” Valentina Orellana’s family According to the medical examiner, the bullet entered the left side of Valentina’s chest and passed through her diaphragm, spleen, left lung, aorta and right lung. Her death was ruled a homicide. Lopez also died at the scene of a gunshot wound to the chest, LAPD officials said. The medical examiner’s report indicated that he had methamphetamine in his system. In a statement, the family’s lawyer, Rahul Ravipudi, said the lawsuit is the first step in getting all the information about Valentina’s tragic death. “The filing of this lawsuit is the first step for Soledad and Juan Pablo in their pursuit of the transparency and justice promised to them by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti following the fatal shooting of their daughter, Valentina,” Ravipudi said. Surveillance camera footage shows the suspect’s terrifying encounter on Dec. 23, 2021.LAPD/YouTube “It is their deepest hope that those responsible for her death will be held accountable and that changes will be made to the LAPD’s policies, practices and standards for the use of deadly force that will prevent yet another senseless tragedy at the hands of law enforcement.” . Los Angeles officials contacted by The Post on Tuesday declined to comment on the lawsuit. “The Department does not comment on pending litigation,” LAPD spokesman Officer Drake Madison said. Burlington Stores officials also declined to comment on the suit. “While we are unable to comment on pending litigation, the safety and well-being of our customers is of the utmost importance to us,” Jenn Glassey, spokeswoman for Burlington Stores, Inc., told The Post. Soledad Peralta, mother of Valentina Orellana Peralta, cries outside Los Angeles Police Department headquarters in Los Angeles.AP The LAPD and the California Department of Justice are investigating the shooting, according to the Associated Press. During a press conference in December, Valentina’s father, Juan Pablo Orellana Larenas, said that his daughter was trying on dresses for Christmas. The family had just arrived from their native Chile when the teenager was killed.
“My daughter was special,” Larenas said. “He had dreams. And tragically, those dreams have been overshadowed by this nightmare that keeps me awake at night.”