MARINA DEL REY, Calif. — Three legal claims filed against the city of Anaheim accuse police officers of using unjustified and excessive force during a Dec. 6 encounter that ended with the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Alberto Arzola on the front steps of his home, as well as serious injuries to another teenager and lasting trauma to a child who witnessed the shooting.
“There was no legal justification for the Anaheim police to shoot Alberto Arzola in front of his own home,” said V. James DeSimone, a Los Angeles civil rights attorney representing the families. “And there is no excuse for Anaheim police to shoot an unarmed man in the head with a so-called ‘less lethal projectile’ while he’s complying with police.”
The claims stem from a police response to what officers were reportedly investigating as a graffiti misdemeanor in the 800 block of South Philadelphia Street, an offense the filings state Arzola did not commit. According to the claims, officers arrived at approximately 9:30 p.m. in an unmarked vehicle with tinted windows and immediately approached with their guns drawn…