Relatives of a man who was fatally shot by Inglewood police at his family’s home announced Monday the filing of a damages claim against the city, insisting the shooting was unjustified.
Ivan Solis Mora, 34, was fatally shot about 1 p.m. Thursday during a confrontation with Inglewood police in the 10000 block of Grevillea Avenue, west of Hawthorne Boulevard, according to Lt. Scott Collins of the Inglewood Police Department and the county Department of Medical Examiner.
During a news conference Monday, Mora’s mother was joined by other relatives, their attorney and local activists to decry the shooting and announce the filing of a claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit.
Inglewood officials could not be reached for immediate comment on the filing.
“We’re going to make sure that the city pays,” attorney Christian Contreras said on behalf of the family. “And we’ll do anything and everything to bring justice to this family.”
According to the family, police knew Mora had a history of mental illness because they had responded to previous calls to the home.
Relatives also insisted that Mora was not armed and did not present a danger to the officers.
Collins said last week, however, that officers went to the home on a report of a man brandishing a knife in the front yard.
Upon their arrival, the officers found a man who they said was armed with a knife and behaving erratically, he said. The suspect ran into the rear yard, where there was an adjacent residence. There police attempted to de-escalate the situation and detain the man to no avail, Collins said. They shot the suspect with pepper balls, rubber balls and Taser but the suspect did not surrender, and officers ultimately shot him as he allegedly advanced on police, Collins said.
Cliff Smith, an activist with the Coalition for Community Control Over the Police, said witnesses questioned the propriety of the shooting.
“Witness in the neighborhood said that Ivan was shot in the back, that they saw now weapon that Ivan had, that they heard no commands to drop anything or otherwise, that the police just shot him without provocation or cause,” Smith said.