Family members of a man killed by police in San Bernardino County gathered Tuesday to demand justice for the father and soon-to-be husband, saying officers used excessive force during a traffic stop that resulted in a deadly shooting.
Attorneys for the family say surveillance footage shows Jose Pena running from officers with the Fontana Police Department moments before they shot him in the back.
The incident occurred on the night of Dec. 13, 2023, near Mango Avenue and Foothill Boulevard in Fontana.
“This is a man who didn’t deserve to die,” one of the family’s attorneys, Christian Contreras, said outside Fontana City Hall Tuesday. “This is a man who had a beloved family, and this is a man who deserves justice.”
In addition to filing a federal civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit against the department, the family and their attorneys announced a second lawsuit alleging that the Fontana Police Department was in violation of the Public Records Act by not releasing officers’ body-worn camera footage within a certain timeframe.