City Denies Claim by Family of Man Fatally Shot by Police

The Glendale City Council voted Tuesday to reject two $5-million claims filed against the city by the widow and children of a man slain by Glendale police, who said they mistook a television remote-control unit the man was holding for a gun.

Concepcion Alvarado, 22, alleged in the claims that the shooting of Javier G. Alvarado was the result of negligence and violated the victim’s civil rights. One claim was filed by the pregnant widow alone, the other by her two children and the unborn child. Now that the claims have been denied, she has 100 days to file a lawsuit.

The council rejected the claims based on the recommendation of the city attorney, Frank R. Manzano, who said in a letter to the council that “the evidence is overwhelming and persuasive that all of the officers involved in this incident acted properly and well within departmental guidelines concerning the use of deadly force.”

Alvarado, 23, of Glendale, was fatally shot on June 1 when three police officers arrived at Pacific and Elk avenues in Glendale in response to reports of a man waving a gun. The three officers, whose names have not been made public, said they ordered Alvarado to drop the instrument he was holding, and, when he did not comply, all three officers opened fire. An autopsy found traces of the hallucinogenic drug phencyclidine in Alvarado’s blood.

The Glendale Police Department investigated the shooting and cleared the officers of wrongdoing, said Sgt. Steve Campbell. A second investigation by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is continuing, a spokesman said.