$30 Million Wrongful Death Suit Filed Against City Of Escondido And Police Officer
The family of an Escondido man has filed a $30 million wrongful death and civil rights federal lawsuit claiming that an officer negligently shot and killed 51-year old Van Dinh Le. The suit was filed in San Diego on behalf of Le's widow and his two adult children.
In March of this year 51-year old emotionally disturbed Van Dinh Le was threatening bodily harm to himself. His wife, Amy Thu Bich Le, asked neighbors to call 911. Three Escondido officers responded, found Le in wielding a pair of scissors and a few moments Officer Matthew Nelson allegedly shot and killed Le.
The suit names the city of Escondido and Officer Matthew Nelson as defendants and was filed in U.S. District Court in San Diego this week by the family of 51-year-old Van Dinh Le on behalf of widow Amy Thu Bich Le and adult children Kevin and Vivian Le. The lawsuit contends Officer Matthew Nelson used “unlawful and excessive force.”
The family says Nelson had no reason to shoot Le because he did not pose a threat to anyone while he was in the bathroom of his own home. Le's family alleges that the responding officers neglected to calm Le down or factor in his mental illness and instead physically rushed him and tried to force him out of the bathroom.
Escondido City Attorney Jeff Epp called the lawsuit “disappointing” and stated that the Escondido Police Department conducted itself in a "very professional and exemplary manner."
Contributing writer Emery Brett Ledger is a nationally recognized Personal Injury Attorney.
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