Attorneys for the city of Long Beach and those for the relatives of an armed man who was fatally shot by Long Beach Police Department officers at a park in the city’s Cambodia Town area in 2024 told a judge they are continuing to try and settle the case, according to court papers obtained Thursday.
Attorneys for the plaintiff contend the shooting or 46-year-old Donald Washington was unnecessary and that the decedent’s sibling suffered emotional distress from witnessing what happened. During a post-mediation status conference on Wednesday, lawyers informed Long Beach Superior Court Judge Gary Tokumori that efforts to resolve the case without a trial are ongoing. Nonetheless, the judge said the scheduled Dec. 7 trial date will remain on calendar.
In their previous court papers, attorneys for the city denied the relatives’ allegations and contended that the city is immune from them. The lawyers also said any use of force use was “objectively reasonable and necessary.”
Washington was killed during an April 17, 2024, confrontation with officers at Long Beach’s MacArthur Park, on East Anaheim Street. The responding officers gave Washington multiple orders to drop a handgun, and he was shot when he refused to comply, police said previously.
But in the lawsuit, Washington’s father, Donald Washington Sr., and brother, Andre Simmons, contend that two officers “hastily” drew their weapons as they got out of their car and confronted Washington — with one officer telling him to take his hands out of his pockets, and eventually both officers ordering him to drop his gun.
As Washington began obeying the officers by laying down his gun, one officer said, “If you pull out a gun, we will shoot you,” the suit states. Washington, apparently confused by what the suit alleges were conflicting commands from the officers, made a shrugging gesture with his left hand, the suit further states.
Both officers again told Washington to drop his gun, and when he eventually complied, one officer said, “Hands up,” then fired two shots at Washington, who was then shot by the other officer while lying on his back, the suit states.
“(Washington) never pointed a gun toward the officers or anyone else prior to being shot,” according to the suit, which alleges that both officers “failed to re-evaluate the threat after each shot fired at (Washington), constituting excessive force and negligence.”
Washington’s brother saw the shooting and also witnessed an alleged delay in getting his sibling medical aide, causing Simmons severe emotional distress, the suit states.
In addition to negligent infliction of emotional distress, the suit alleges civil rights violation, battery, wrongful death/negligence and negligent supervision and training. The plaintiffs seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.