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The family of a man who was shot and killed by police during a chase in Culver City late last year is filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the department alleging excessive force.
Video of the fatal encounter was shared by the family’s attorney on Tuesday, which shows Guillermo Medina running from police on Dec. 18 and falling to the ground after being shot in the back.
Medina’s family alleges he was unarmed and mentally ill, and that officers failed to provide timely medical care that could have prevented his death.
The lawsuit claims Medina, who had paranoid schizophrenia, was having a mental breakdown during the incident.
Though he was acting erratically, he told officers he was not going to hurt anyone and begged them to use restraint, his family alleges.
No weapon was displayed at the time, nor was one found at the scene.
Police said they were responding to a domestic violence call and that Medina fled in his car and ran away after he crashed into a center median.
That’s when the officer-involved shooting occurred, police said.
Medina’s wife said she called police and “clearly expressed” her husband was in crisis.
“It was made clear to the dispatcher, it was made clear to the officer who was in my house over and over and over,” Adriana Medina said Tuesday. “I said it for an hour.”
Guillermo Medina left behind three children, ages 11, 17 and 20.
Culver City police has not responded to KTLA’s request for comment Tuesday, but at the time, they indicated the fatal police shooting was being investigated by the California Department of Justice and the California State Attorney General’s Office.
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