On January 18th, 2024, a 32-year-old- Los Angeles police officer was suspended for shooting The French family.
He shot and killed a 32-year-old developmentally disabled man who was simply shopping at a Costco with his family on McKinley St. with his parents in Corona. According to The Press-Telegram, Officer Salvador Alejandro Sanchez was off-duty and shopping at the same Costco when he was approached by Kenneth French, carrying a black handgun and holding Sanchez at gunpoint. The former officer claimed he was shot in the head with the black handgun and felt immense pain, so he decided to take action. Sanchez shot him, and Kenneth fell to the ground. Kenneth French died that day.
Once Corona officers arrived, Kenneth French was taken out of the Costco in a body bag, and the store was searched for the black handgun. The gun was never found, not on Kennith, his parents, or any other part of the store. It was reported that Sanchez was the only person in the building with a weapon. Furious, the French family filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department in which the officer worked, and they were given 17 million dollars as compensation for their injuries and the death of their son.
Kennth’s family was also injured at the time of the incident. The French family saw ex-officer Sanchez take out his firearm and point it at their son. They begged him not to shoot, and he instead hit the woman in the stomach and the man on his side. Kenneth’s parents survived, but Sanchez proceeded to shoot him four times in the back until the time of his death.
Sanchez explained to Corona authorities that he shot as an act of self-defense and even asked for medical assistance at a hospital. The doctor found that Sanchez was, in fact, not injured.
The report from the video on NBC4 noted that the French family found it extremely difficult to agree with anything from his statement. The family wondered as to why he would believe that he got shot in the head and still live. Since there was no proof that Kenneth possessed a handgun, Sanchez was his only eyewitness. After the fact, he mentioned that he realized he was not shot in the head but instead punched by Kenneth for unknown reasons. He still tried to prove himself innocent by saying that if Kenneth French did, in fact, have a handgun and Officer Sanchez took the time to inspect him, it would be too late, and he would have died.
Kenneth’s parents’ suspicions were proven to be valid. According to NBC4, it was stated that “The defendant realized that what he did was unreasonable and, as a result, lied about being knocked unconscious when he went into the District Attorney’s Office when he said he saw a gun pointed at his head.” As a result. Alejandro Sanchez was proven guilty.
