The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has approved a $12.5 million settlement to resolve a federal lawsuit over the 2021 fatal shooting of David Ordaz Jr., a 34-year-old father of three who was killed by sheriff’s deputies responding to a mental health crisis at his family’s East Los Angeles home. The board approved the payment without discussion, according to county attorneys who recommended the settlement.
Ordaz’s relatives filed the federal lawsuit against Los Angeles County, contending that deputies used excessive force and that Ordaz posed no threat to the responding officers when he was killed on March 14, 2021, as reported by mynewsla.com. The family said Ordaz was experiencing a mental health crisis and had reported he was suicidal and armed with a knife when they called for help, and relatives claimed he was shot in the back while lying on the ground. Per authorities, deputies who responded to the family’s home said Ordaz continued to advance on them with a knife and walked toward them while holding the weapon.
What the Body Camera Footage Showed
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department released body-camera footage from the scene, which was later posted on YouTube. That footage indicated at least 10 rounds were fired, and showed that a single shot was fired after the main flurry of gunfire had already stopped. Two deputies also fired bean-bag rounds at Ordaz, according to a statement from the District Attorney’s Office.
Multiple deputies opened fire on Ordaz, per authorities, though prosecutors ultimately determined that only one of the four deputies who discharged weapons that day, Remin Pineda, would face criminal charges. Los Angeles County prosecutors concluded that two of the other deputies acted without sufficient evidence of criminal intent and that a third acted in lawful self-defense, according to the Los Angeles Times. A coroner’s report showed that all but two of the bullets that struck Ordaz hit him in the back and side, and Ordaz was found lying face up on the sidewalk while holding his shoulder.
A Rare Criminal Case Against a Deputy
Then-Sheriff Alex Villanueva relieved Pineda of duty in 2021 after reviewing the footage, saying he had grave concerns about the circumstances of the shooting. Prosecutors said Pineda continued firing after Ordaz fell and dropped the knife, and in November 2022, District Attorney George Gascón’s office charged Pineda with assault with a semiautomatic firearm and assault under color of authority. In announcing the charges, Gascón’s office stated that unlawful excessive force by law enforcement erodes public trust and causes long-term community harm, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The filing marked a rare instance of local prosecutors criminally charging an active-duty LASD deputy over an on-duty fatal shooting, per LAist…