The family of a man killed by a Downey police officer in a car-on-pedestrian crash in October is suing the city of Downey and alleging that officials attempted to cover up a fatal hit-and-run.
Raymond Lavalle, 48, was hit by a Downey Police Department officer near the San Gabriel River Trail in Santa Fe Springs on Oct. 2, according to the Whittier Police Department, which is responsible for policing in the area. The crash took place about 8:42 p.m., and Lavalle was pronounced dead shortly after Whittier police arrived at the scene at 9 p.m.
Lavalle’s family says the Downey police officer knowingly fled the scene of the crash, while the city of Downey states that the officer was unaware a person had been hit.
On Thursday, Lavalle’s mother, Luisa, and his three sons, Joseph, Raymundo and Matthew, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The Whittier Police Department investigated the crash and recommended that the officer involved be charged with vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run causing death, according to department spokesperson Officer Emily Armstrong. Lavalle was unhoused and living in the riverbed at the time of the collision.
The L.A. County district attorney’s office declined to file criminal charges, concluding that the crash was a tragic accident, according to a statement provided by Downey. The office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lavalle’s family alleges that the officer, whose identity it does not know, was speeding when Lavalle was hit and that the officer was not responding to any emergency or call for service. The family alleges that the officer fled the scene without stopping to render aid, as is required by law, and that Downey then attempted to cover up the incident by failing to issue a news release or notify the family.
“This family was kept in the dark for many months about the circumstances of the death of their father from this department because they never contacted this family to let them know that a Downey Police Department officer, while on duty, struck, killed and left him there to die like a dog,” attorney Michael Carrillo said at a Tuesday news conference announcing the lawsuit.
The city pushed back on the family’s allegations, saying that the police officer was pursuing a suspect at the time of the crash and was unaware that a pedestrian was struck.
“The collision occurred at low speed in a dark area with poor visibility while the officer was pursuing a suspect who was actively evading the police,” the city said in the statement. “After turning southbound from Telegraph Road into an entrance to the San Gabriel River Trail, the officer’s vehicle struck a pedestrian seated in the roadway. The officer was not aware of the collision, and the victim was later pronounced deceased on the scene.”
In the statement, the Downey Police Department extended condolences to the victim’s family and friends.
The family alleges that the officer hit Lavalle while he was walking with his bike down a driveway toward the San Gabriel River, causing Lavalle to be temporarily lodged underneath the vehicle. The L.A. County medical examiner ruled his cause of death as blunt force trauma.
“I know my father would give you his last dollar, give you the clothes off his back, give you his last meal, whatever it was, he’d give it to you because he cared that much about everybody,” Joseph Lavalle said at Tuesday’s news conference. “I know whether he was in the same situation, he would have definitely stopped and cared for him like it was his own brother.”
The family is seeking compensatory, general and special damages in an amount to be determined at trial, according to the complaint. It is also seeking punitive damages against the Downey police officer once his or her identity becomes known.
