FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Family Files Claim Over Concert Death
The family of a Fountain Valley teen-ager who died in police custody outside a Grateful Dead concert at the Forum last December filed a wrongful death claim against the city of Inglewood on Tuesday.
The claim, potentially a precursor to a lawsuit, says Patrick Shanahan, 19, was the victim of “summary execution” by overly aggressive police officers who struck him with their batons, applied a chokehold and did not start emergency first aid when he stopped breathing, said Lawrence Trygstad, the family’s attorney.
Inglewood police have maintained that officers did not use excessive force. They said Shanahan was uncooperative and under the influence of drugs when police arrested him outside the Forum on Dec. 10. Officers took Shanahan to a nearby hospital after he stopped breathing.
An internal police investigation of the incident is continuing. In addition, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is investigating the police response, and the FBI is looking into whether Shanahan’s civil rights were violated when police arrested him.
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