Long Beach to pay more than $3 million after fatal police shootings of unarmed men

The Long Beach City Council has approved two separate payouts totaling $3.5 million to settle wrongful-death lawsuits brought by the families of unarmed men who were shot and killed by police in recent years, officials said.

The City Council unanimously approved settlements for the families of Hector Morejon and Jason Conoscenti in a closed session meeting on Tuesday night, according to City Atty. Charles Parkin.

Morejon’s mother will receive $1.5 million, Parkin said. Conoscenti’s aunts, his closest surviving relatives, will receive $2 million, according to one of their attorneys, Eric Valenzuela.

Conoscenti’s death in April 2014 gained widespread attention after a video showed officers shooting him as he ran away down a staircase toward the beach, with a police dog nipping at his heels.

WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO: Police fire on suspect in Long Beach

Conoscenti, 36, initially fled from Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies when they responded to report of a theft inside a Target store in Compton.

He drove off in a white SUV into Long Beach, where he stopped and ran. The video appears to show Conoscenti with his hands extended toward the stair rails when officers opened fire.

“What’s somewhat disturbing is Long Beach issues a press release claiming he was shot while reaching for his waistband, when the video clearly shows he was not,” Valenzuela said.

Morejon, 19, was killed under controversial circumstances nearly one year later. The teen was unarmed when he was shot by Officer Jeffrey A. Meyer, who was responding to a report of trespassing inside a vacant apartment in the 1100 block of Hoffman Avenue.

According to the initial police account, Meyer opened fire after he saw Morejon “turn towards him, while bending his knees, and extended an arm out as if pointing an object, which [the officer] perceived was a gun.”

An autopsy report reviewed by the Los Angeles Times shows Morejon died of a single gunshot wound to the back. No weapon was recovered.

Morejon’s attorney, Samuel R. Paz, contended the teen was either facing away, or running away, from the officer when the shooting occurred.

The Morejon family’s lawsuit also accused Meyer of failing to render first aid to Morejon after the shooting.

Paz, who said he has reviewed a report by the Police Department’s shooting review board on Morejon’s death, said the agency faulted some of Meyer’s tactics during the incident. The report criticized the officer for approaching the property without backup and for using his gun-mounted flashlight to illuminate the area, according to Paz.

But the lawyer said the review board ultimately decided that the shooting did not violate the department’s deadly force policy.

Paz criticized the department, saying he believes the shooting may have been the result of an accidental discharge. He accused the agency of ignoring the autopsy’s finding that Morejon was shot in the back, which he said contradicts Meyer’s claim that Morejon was pointing what the officer thought was a weapon at him.

“That stinks,” Paz said. “That’s an indication of a dysfunctional review process.”

Paz said the report completed by the department’s shooting-review board is under a protective order signed by a federal judge and cannot be publicly released.

The officers involved in both killings remain on active duty, according to Long Beach police spokeswoman Cynthia Arrona. She declined to comment on the review board’s findings in the Morejon case. It was not clear what, if any, discipline the officers faced. Arrona did not identify the officers who shot Conoscenti.

“The city recognizes that the loss of any human life has lasting consequences for the family, friends, neighbors, those employees involved, and the city as a whole,” the Police Department said in a statement. “The city of Long Beach and its police department remain committed to improving police community relations, constitutional policing, and best practices.”

Investigations into both shootings have been presented to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office to determine whether the officers should face criminal charges. The cases remain under review, according to Arrona and D.A. spokeswoman Jane Robison.

Long Beach police have come under scrutiny for a number of fatal shootings in recent years. Last month, the city agreed to pay $3 million to the family of Tyler Woods, an unarmed man who was shot 19 times after running from police in 2013.

The city is also facing a lawsuit in the 2015 shooting of a mentally disabled man inside an arcade. Police said Mharloun Saycon, 39, was shot after ignoring repeated commands to put down a small knife. His family contends that Saycon posed no threat to the officers and was seated when he was shot.

Dale Galipo, the lead attorney for Conoscenti’s aunts, said the circumstances surrounding a number of Long Beach police shootings in recent years are a clear sign of a need for reform.

“Hopefully they’ll start getting the message that they can’t continue to shoot unarmed people,” he said. “Hopefully, some of these civil cases and some of the payouts they are having to make will get their attention.”

james.queally@latimes.com

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for crime and police news in California.

UPDATES:

5:35 p.m.: This story was updated with comments from the attorney for Conoscenti’s family.

This story first published at 5:10 p.m.