Officers Acted Properly in Shooting, Jury Rules
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A Superior Court jury unanimously decided Wednesday that four Downey police officers acted properly when they fatally shot an unarmed Los Angeles man who had robbed a mini-market and tried to flee in his pickup truck.
The decision came in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Norwalk on behalf of Sarah Zanolini, the daughter of Mark Dominic Zanolini. Attorneys for the plaintiff and the defendants agreed that Zanolini, who was 27, had robbed a Shell gas station and mini-market in Downey on Aug. 6, 1987. Zanolini was shot as he tried to back his truck past police officers during a chase.
Clarence P. Loffarelli, who represented Sarah Zanolini, argued that the officers should have tried to block the path with their cars before firing.
Defense attorney Tracy Strickland noted the officers thought Zanolini was armed because of information they had received from a store clerk. But officers found only a hammer handle.
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