A man who was paralyzed when a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy shot him during a violent 2020 encounter in a parking garage at the Whittier courthouse is poised to receive a $7 million settlement to resolve a federal lawsuit.
The Los Angeles County Claims Board agreed this week to recommend that the Board of Supervisors issue the payout to Samuel Nelson, who is now a paraplegic. When the supervisors will vote on the recommendation was not immediately clear.
Nelson filed a lawsuit in February 2022 in U.S. District Court against the county and Deputy Raymond Chavez alleging excessive force, unlawful detention, battery and negligence.
Attorneys for Nelson could not be reached for comment. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department declined to comment specifically on the settlement because it hasn’t been finalized.
“The department takes all deputy-involved shootings seriously,” the LASD said in a statement. “Each incident is unique and complex and goes through several internal and external layers of investigation and analysis.”
The ordeal involving Nelson began around 4 p.m. on Sept. 23, 2020, after Chavez ended his shift at the Whittier courthouse, according to an investigative report from the district attorney’s Justice System Integrity Division.
Chavez changed clothes and armed himself with a .357 magnum “backup” revolver that he carries in the back pocket of his shorts, and walked to a parking garage across the street from the Superior Court building on Painter Avenue to get into his car and drive home.
When Chavez entered the garage, he saw Nelson and another man looking into vehicles and believed they were “casing” cars to burglarize, the report states,
Chavez allegedly yelled, “What are you doing to my car?” and Nelson responded that he had “dropped something.”
Chavez, who attempted to use his cellphone to record video, allegedly asked Nelson what he dropped, and Nelson responded, “Don’t f****** worry about it.”
Nelson, enraged that Chavez was filming him, advanced aggressively toward the deputy, reached into his waistband and appeared to be drawing a weapon, according to the report.
Chavez drew his backup gun, pointed it at Nelson, identified himself as a deputy, and ordered Nelson to show his hands, states the report.
Chavez, allegedly in fear for his life, fired three rounds at Nelson, who was about 3 feet away, striking him in the ear and lower back.
Chavez called 911 and held Nelson at gunpoint on the ground as he continued to “fumble” with his waistband while saying that he was reaching for a knife, not a gun, the report states.
A folding construction-style knife was found concealed and clipped to the front of Nelson’s waistband.
District attorney’s investigators interviewed Nelson at an area hospital.
Nelson, who claimed he was homeless, said he dropped $20 bills near a parked car in the garage and was looking for the money when Chavez confronted him and started recording him.
Nelson told investigators he reached toward his waistband to pull up his shirt and show Chavez the knife to intimidate him and stop him from recording before he was shot.
Nelson also admitted to using methamphetamine earlier on the day of the shooting but denied burglarizing automobiles, the report states.
The lawsuit alleges the shooting was excessive and unreasonable because Nelson posed no immediate threat to Chavez and was moving away from the deputy when he was shot.
The suit also claims Chavez worked with law enforcement investigators, including those with the Whittier Police Department, to distort the facts and develop a “false narrative” to cover up events surrounding the shooting.
Whittier police officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Chavez was not acting in lawful self-defense.
