Wrongful Death Suit Filed Over Driver Shot by CHP

The family of an off-duty Rapid Transit District bus driver shot to death by a California Highway Patrol officer during a traffic stop filed a wrongful death suit Friday, claiming the man was shot three times in the back when he refused to get out of his car.

The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks damages “in the millions of dollars” from the CHP stemming from the March 18 incident that left Yusuf Bilal, 36, fatally wounded.

According to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s investigation, CHP Officer Bruce Moats stopped Bilal’s car near the 7100 block of South Broadway after Bilal ran a red light.

After a few minutes of conversation, Moats ordered Bilal out of the car, and when he failed to comply after several requests, drew his baton, opened the car door and jabbed Bilal several times, according to the investigation.

What happened next is in dispute, based on accounts from Moats and several witnesses at the scene, but within moments, Moats had lost possession of the baton and fired three shots, according to the D.A.’s report. Moats told investigators that Bilal had grabbed the baton and threatened to kill him.

The district attorney declined to file any charges in the case, citing “insufficient evidence to prove a criminal occurrence.”

Kenneth Roberson, an attorney representing the Bilal family in the case, said the five-year RTD veteran “was not the type of man to fly off the handle. He was a religious man, very family oriented to his wife and three children, working on a master’s degree.”

After the shooting, Moats was taken off patrol duties, and CHP spokeswoman Jill Angel said Friday that the agency plans to take some “administrative action” against him, the nature of which has not been determined.

“In the meantime, he is still in the office, off the road and on limited duty, and will not return to duty until this whole thing has been completed,” she said.