The family of a man killed last year by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies is suing the county.
Arturo Cernas, 34, was shot and killed in Carson on Aug. 7, 2023, after deputies responded to the 17400 block of South Central Avenue for reports of a man “causing a disturbance and screaming at the gas pumps,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a news release .
Cernas’ family said he was homeless and suffered from addiction and schizophrenia.
Deputies “immediately noticed the butt of a handgun protruding from Cernas’ pant pocket” and opened fire after he “ignored the deputies’ commands and began to draw the handgun from inside his pocket,” the release said. That gun was later found to be a BB pistol.
Video shows that Cernas initially followed deputies’ orders, kneeling on the ground and keeping his hands visible. Soon after, however, he begins reaching into his bag and pockets, including the one containing the BB gun, though he does not grab the weapon in a manner that indicates he would use it.