Family of man fatally shot by CHP announces lawsuit
Salgado struck 18 times; pregnant girlfriend also was wounded
OAKLAND >> The family of a man killed by CHP officers while driving a stolen car is filing a wrongful death lawsuit after he was shot 18 times.
The man’s pregnant girlfriend, who was also struck by gunfire, is claiming the shooting also contributed to the loss of their baby.
The law offices of civil rights attorney John Burris on Monday announced the federal lawsuit against the California Highway Patrol over the June 2 fatal shooting of Erik Salgado, 23, and his girlfriend, Brianna Colombo, who was four months pregnant and injured in the shooting.
The car Salgado was driving was struck 40 times, and Salgado was fatally wounded by 18 shots. Colombo was stuck three times, including in her stomach area, but survived. Their unborn child did not.
“The number of shots fired by the officers was enough to kill a militia of terrorists. It was a massacre!” Burris said in a statement.
In a news conference Monday afternoon, Burris showed a diagram of where Salgado was shot: Five bullets entered his body in the front, 13 entered from the back.
“This is outrageous. I’ve never
seen a body being torn apart like this over a car. Over a car,” Burris said.
Salgado’s mother also spoke Monday, breaking down in tears, and asking for the names of the CHP officers who took part in the shooting. She said they not only killed her son, but her grandchild as well.
“I can’t really understand this cruelty against my son. I can’t understand,” she said in Spanish, adding that Monday would have been her son’s 24th birthday.
On June 2, Salgado and Colombo were in a red Dodge Charger that had been stolen from a San Leandro dealership several weeks before. Around 10:30 p.m. that day, the two were leaving the area of Salgado’s mother’s home around 94th Avenue and Cherry Street when they were approached by an unmarked police car. At the same time, more police cars were closing in from behind, going south.
Salgado’s attorneys said it’s not clear to this day if Salgado fully knew he was being surrounded by police officers, since they were in plain clothes and unmarked vehicles.
Salgado tried to pass one car but slightly bumped it, according to the law firm. When he backed up, he hit the car behind him. The red Dodge was pinned between two vehicles, the lawsuit says. As Salgado tried to straighten the car, an unnamed CHP officer (dressed in plain clothes) stood in front of Salgado’s car, pointing a handgun at him and told him to turn off the car’s engine.
Several seconds later, although the red car had not moved, the officer began firing at Salgado’s car without warning, the lawsuit alleges. Two other officers then began to shoot, “unleashing a barrage of gunfire” at the car, hitting it about 40 times.
Other than the officers yelling to turn the engine off, there were no other efforts made to communicate with either Salgado or Colombo before the shooting, according to the lawsuit. Neither Salgado nor Colombo was armed.
“The officers’ conduct was atrocious, callous and a wanton, reckless disregard for the lives of Erik, Brianna and the residential community. The officers knew nothing about Erik or Brianna, didn’t know if they stole the car, or even if they knew it was stolen,” Burris said in a statement.
After being shot, Salgado slumped forward, causing the car’s engine to rev and the tires to spin, and move the car forward. Another officer began shooting into the car until he ran out of ammunition, the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit says the red Dodge was one of 80 cars stolen from a San Leandro car dealership on May 30 and that the CHP had no information if Salgado was involved in the robbery, or how he got the Dodge.
Salgado’s death sparked outrage in the community. Just days after his death, multiple rallies and marches took place, calling for justice for Salgado.
Mayor Libby Schaaf released a statement on his death at the time, saying the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, CHP and Oakland police all were conducting their own independent investigations of the shooting. The investigations are ongoing.
Salgado’s family is also asking that any video footage of his killing be released, along with the names of the CHP officers involved.
According to Burris, witnesses said the officers were outside their cars and safe when they fired their guns. A new state law that went into effect in January allows police officers to only use lethal force when “necessary,” and in response to an imminent threat of death or serious injury to justify their actions.
Burris said some officers shot with a high-power assault rifle, which demonstrates their lack of disregard for the two victims, and for the local community and their safety. He called the shooting a “complete overkill” for the potential crime.
Burris is asking the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office to charge the CHP officers with murder and assault with a deadly weapon.
Besides the cost of Colombo’s medical bills, the lawsuit does not specify an amount of damages sought. The CHP did not immediately respond to a request for comment. wife of former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Lou Palatella, who runs a liquor distribution business. ers a right to recall. “We just think it’s right for those who have devoted their lives to these jobs to have the opportunity to go back to work once they’re up and running again.”